words (are all I have)
by cuteasahybridpuppy
Summary: Collection of my Klaroline drabbles as requested on tumblr.
1. Give It Back

_**Caroline - "Give it back!"**_

Requested by anon

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><p>Caroline smiled to herself as she packed away the photoframes that had lined her desk during her years at Whitmore. Her final year had officially ended almost a month previously with her last exams, but she had stayed with Elena and Bonnie to celebrate making it through college by going to party after party after party. It was a good thing two of them were vampires. The amount of alcohol they had drank would have been enough to send them to the ER otherwise. Bonnie had been the more responsible, though the other two took turns to be the sober (or the vampire equivalent) so the former witch could let her hair down too.<p>

Sighing, Caroline boxed up the last of her desk items before taping it up and dumping it next to the rest of them. Her roommates had partially finished their packing, but they only had to take it all back to Mystic Falls and were taking their time. Caroline, on the other hand, was heading back quickly to unload her things at her mother's house before saying one final goodbye to her friends. There was a plane waiting for her that night to take her to Europe. It was her graduation present from the one and only Original Hybrid; one she had been looking forward to ever since he had given her free reign of his summer itinerary until they both had to return for her graduation ceremony.

"Are you done?" she asked Klaus, who was currently packing away the books that lined her shelves. It did something to her stomach (akin to butterflies) to see the self-titled _King of New Orleans_ carrying out a domestic task such as packing up her room. He had offered the use of his minions but she had shot him down instantly. The last thing Caroline needed were strange vampires going through her stuff.

"Almost, love," he replied, throwing her a smile over his shoulder. She couldn't help but reciprocate it, softening her stance to drop her hands from her hips and bounce lightly on a foot.

To say she was excited would be an understatement. There was a mix of nervousness in there too (the longest she had spent with Klaus alone was just over a week when they had taken a trip to New York one Christmas) at the thought of her upcoming summer, but she pushed that to the side with a firm hand. Jumping into this relationship with Klaus had been a risk enough, but it had worked out much more perfectly than she ever thought it could. A whole summer with him could only go one way or another (they'd fall deeper in love or they'd want to dessicate each other) and there was no need to worry about it before it even began. She would take every day as it came.

"Good, 'cause I think I'm done," Caroline announced with a huge sigh of relief. With his help, they had managed to pack up her third of the room within a couple of hours (excluding the time they took to 'greet' each other after spending the last few months apart). "We should be home by lunchtime, giving us enough time to say goodbye to my mom and then to my friends."

"'Us', love?" Klaus asked sceptically with a hint of amusement, as if such a request was above him.

"Yes, '_us'_," she emphasised, narrowing her eyes at his back. "You're at least coming to lunch with my mom."

"Wouldn't you rather have that time alone?" he tried but Caroline refused to let him work his way out of it. The relationship between him and her mom was slightly rocky, but it was amicable. It had been almost a year since Liz had made a threat against him, which had to stand for something.

"Nope. You're coming, and that's it. You can skip out with my friends, I'll allow you that," Caroline told him, gathering up the boxes to pile them into easy-to-maneuver blocks.

"Very well, I guess I can live with that," Klaus all but grumbled. Rolling her eyes, she had just finished moving the last box when she heard him let out a low chuckle. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Freezing, Caroline mentally went through what had been on her shelves that he could have found to illicit such a joyful reaction. A gasp left her lips when she recalled shoving her diary behind a few of her textbooks in her second year to keep away from a certain prying hybrid during his visit to her. The same hybrid who was currently trying to unwind the ribbon that held the book shut, she saw when she stood up and twirled around.

"No!" she shouted, using her vampire speed to rush over to him with the intent of taking the book out of his hands. Klaus, however, was faster and must have anticipated her reaction because he merely turned his back towards her and carried on with trying to open it. "Give it back!"

"Now, now, sweetheart. Three years and you never even _mentioned_ having a diary. Whatever happened to honesty being the foundation of our relationship, hmm?" he teased. Caroline carried on tugging at his arm until he relented and turned back to face her. "What's in here that you don't want me to read?"

"Nothing," she replied far too quickly if the smirk that pulled at his lips was anything to go by.

"If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say its something about me," he stated, holding the diary in a grasp so tight that Caroline was sure it would have an indent of his fingers once he let go. "Dirty thoughts? Dreams? Confessions of love? Or simply how amazing you find me?"

"You wish," Caroline scoffed, not giving away that he had hit the nail right on the head with all four guesses. "You don't need to read it because whatever is in there, you already know, ok? Besides, your ego can do without it otherwise I doubt there would be any space for me on our vacation."

Klaus chuckled at her words, tossing the diary between his hands before holding it out for her. She grabbed it immediately, but his grip didn't lessen on his end. "Let me read it one day," he requested earnestly, and she could see the seriousness in his eyes about wanting to truly know everything about her.

"One day," she agreed and mentally noting to reread the diary sometime soon before she forgot. 'One day' to her was far, far away (decades if not centuries) but she knew he wouldn't let her forget it for so long. If they lasted until then, that was. That was a whole other problem in itself. "But I deserve the right to retract anything that has nothing to do with you or us."

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly, finally letting go so she could hurriedly go and stuff the diary into the bag carrying the clothes she wouldn't be taking with her over the summer. "But I deserve the right to carry out any dirty dreams or thoughts you might have written about."

Caroline smirked as she stepped up to him. Resting her hands on his shoulders, she pushed herself onto her tiptoes so she could speak into his ear. "You already have."


	2. For You, I Would Destroy the World

_**Klaus - "For you, I would destroy the world."**_

Requested by anon

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><p>"Is it done?" Caroline asked as soon as Klaus entered their bedroom. There was blood staining his hands with splatters across his neck and under his jaw. She was sure that if he hadn't been wearing dark clothes that night, they would show the same.<p>

"Yes," was all he said in reply before heading into the adjoining bathroom. She curled up her legs next to her onto the couch she sat on, listening to the muted _thud_ of his clothes hitting the tiled floor before he turned on the shower and stepped in.

She must have fallen asleep waiting for him to finish because the next thing she heard was Klaus dismissing the vampires who had been tasked at keeping her safe that evening in an abrupt manner before he entered the bedroom once again through the main doors.

He approached her next, coming to a stop in front of the couch and gently pushing back the hair she could feel on her forehead. Blinking her eyes open, she caught his gaze before letting them flutter close again under the heavy weight of sleep. Trying to open them once again, she stiffened when he gently lifted her into his arms and carried her the short distance to the bed.

"Klaus," she murmured, pushing herself up when he laid her down and pulled the sheets over her.

"Go to sleep, love. We can talk tomorrow," he replied but she grabbed onto his wrist when he pulled away. She was awake now and managed to keep her eyes open even as she rested her head on the pillow once again. Keeping her gaze on him, she held on tightly until he sighed and nodded, perching on the edge of the bed next to her. "Its done, Caroline. They're all dead. What else is there to talk about?"

Caroline paused at his words. He smelt fresh and clean, like the bodywash he used and the musky scent that was simply _him_, but the smell of blood and dirt and sweat was still stuck in her nose from when he had first returned.

She knew what had happened in the bayous that evening. Every werewolf who didn't pledge their allegiance was slaughtered. Every pack who refused to see him as their true Alpha now no longer existed. All because of four rebels who had refused to accept her, a vampire, as their Alpha's mate, their so-called queen, and had attacked her.

It had happened that afternoon whilst she had been out shopping. It was merely to pass some time. On her way back, she had felt someone following her but before she could even explore it, she found herself being bundled into an alleyway by three people who she recognised as werewolves. The fourth was waiting for her already.

She knew that the wolves in the woods outside of the French Quarter weren't overly happy with a vampire being part of their pack (no matter how small a role she played) but they would never do anything against it. Mainly because it would upset Klaus, the Alpha of Alphas, and because she had no active role in being the Alpha Female. She left werewolf business to the werewolves.

But these four were the younger ones; ones who understood how it all worked but didn't quite grasp the reality of the situation. It had happened before (she had been in the city with Klaus for over three decades now) but with time, they all came around when they saw that she meant no harm to them or their ways.

In the alleyway, however, she knew those who were attacking her had a far greater issue than her simply being there. They wanted her _gone_. So they bit her, stabbed her with wooden splinters doused in vervain and tried to stake her. It took all her strength to keep the stake away from her heart, but she managed with one well placed blow to one of the mans' hand before almost gouging an eye out of his female accomplice. It had been enough for her to run.

Tripping over her own feet, she had somehow made it to Rousseau's where Cami had ushered her into the derelict kitchen without being seen by the small crowd of patrons of the early afternoon. Caroline had dug out the splinters from under her skin as well as she could as the human had called Klaus. It hadn't taken him more than three minutes to rush into the bar in a gust of wind, flinging open the kitchen doors without any thought to the hinges that they precariously rocked on and demand what the hell had happened. After a fill of his blood, she explained to him with as much calm as she could muster but nothing could have been down to sooth his rage.

"Did you at least give them a choice?" Caroline asked softly, fingers smoothing over his wrist in anxiety.

"I told them that if they gave me who it was that harmed you, I would spare the rest," Klaus explained in a clipped tone, jaw fixed and muscles tense. "They did not come forward and no-one gave them up. I could smell your blood all over one of the packs' dwellings. They refused my offer and we killed them all."

Remaining quiet for a moment, she let her hand fall from his grip on his wrist onto the bed where it played with the sheets. She watched the smooth cotton cause shadows against his skin before catching his eyes again. "What does this mean for the city? There can't be peace any more, can there?"

"Perhaps not. Who know, love? Perhaps the rest of the werewolves will accept what happened as punishment for an act of treason," he replied coolly, hand covering hers before picking it up to cradle between both of his.

"That's not going to happen, we both know it," Caroline sighed worryingly. "It'll be vampires against werewolves again. The human and the witches will be split or in danger. It'll destroy the city."

"None of that matters, Caroline. We have done it once, and won. We will do it again," Klaus assured her, lifting her hand to hold up to his chest as he leant forward to caress her face with his other hand. "They dared to harm you, to _kill_ you. I don't care what it takes, but I won't allow anyone who even _thinks_ about laying a finger on you to live a second longer. Forget the city, Caroline; for you, I would destroy the world."


	3. My Parents Know

**_Klaus - "My parents know."_**

Requested by justanotherfiveminutes

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><p>Coming home to see the <em>Big Bad Original Hybrid <em>waiting for you on the couch should have elicited a much different reaction than, "Holy crap! _Klaus! _What are you doing here?"

If Caroline was honest, it wasn't just her reaction that was out of the norm. His chuckle and sly grin as he lounged comfortably in her living room wasn't something you'd expect from the most fearsome being to walk the earth.

"Sorry, love. I didn't mean to scare you," he replied, crossing his legs at the ankles to rest on her coffee table. She glared at his poor manners, huffing until he slowly retreated and placed his feet on the floor again.

"Well, you sure don't have a great way of showing it," she muttered, dumping her bags on the table he had cleared before turning to face him. "So?"

"So, what?" he smirked innocently.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline all but gritted out.

"I came to see you."

Raising an eyebrow, she laughed dryly. "Nice try but you said you'd stay away, remember?"

"Oh, I remember that day _vividly_. Perhaps more _after _I made that promise, but vividly nonetheless," Klaus stated with a salacious grin, eyes slowly looking her up and down, from her brown ankle boots to the small white cardigan that covered her pink summer dress. "You're no longer in Mystic Falls; I believe that renders our promise currently moot."

Not having a good enough reply, she dropped into the single seater adjacent to him. "Did you come all this way to talk about technicalities or what?"

"You seem to be in a rush to get rid of me?" Klaus said in faux offence though she was sure that the look of hurt that graced his features was anything but fake. He placed his nonchalant mask back on before she could do anything about it, however.

"Nope, just curious," she clarified, giving him an olive branch rather than kicking him out. They hadn't seen each other ever since their little tryst in the woods, but they had kept in touch through texts and phone calls. However, it was a whole different thing to have him in front of her again. Close enough to touch, feel and smell.

"My parents know," he said suddenly, catching her off guard and throwing her thoughts into a muddle. Her confusion must have shown because he carried on to clarify, "About Hope."

"That she's alive? Oh, wow. How?" Caroline asked in shock. She was one of the very few people in the entire world who knew of the child's existence, thanks to a drunken phone call from an upset Klaus one evening. She was too far away for him to compel her to forget though there was a part of her that believed he liked her knowing. She would be lying if she said she didn't share his feelings; enjoying being part of his world even if she wasn't ready to join him completely.

"I don't know. I was foolish to think I could hide it, I guess," he admitted with a sigh, eyes shifting away before meeting hers again.

"Is she still safe? Does Rebekah still have her?" Caroline asked worryingly.

"She's perfectly fine, love. I actually just saw her. She's grown a fair bit," he told her with a smile filled with a pride that only a father could hold.

"I bet. I guess it'd be too much asking for a photo, huh?" she tried only to receive a shake of the head and a small smile of regret in reply. "I'm sure Rebekah has taken plenty for you."

"I am sure," he agreed with amusement before clearing his throat and becoming serious. Sitting forward, he leaned in towards her. "I'm here because I need you to be careful, Caroline."

"What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly.

"Let's not pretend, shall we? We both know how much you mean to me, and if my parents were to find out, I have no doubt they would use you against me. Or simply kill you," Klaus stated without any tact nor sugarcoating the truth. It was enough shock her into silence, which he took as a cue to carry on, laying a hand on her bare knee. The warmth sent tingles through her whole body. "Stay safe, Caroline. I came to tell you that I won't be reachable for the foreseeable future but if you are in danger or in any need of assistance then call either Elijah or Hayley. They will pass on the message and I will help in any way I can."

"I won't disturb you whilst you fight for your family, Klaus. You need to focus on them," Caroline told him, ignoring the way his thumb drew somewhat comforting circles into her skin.

"One day, you will be part of the family too, sweetheart," he assured her with the same certainty as he had had when he had told her he'd be her last love. Caroline watched him stand up after squeezing her knee for a final time. "Stay safe and call if there is an emergency. I will contact you when I can. Mostly because I can't imagine not being able to."

"Always got to annoy me, huh?" she teased to lighten the mood, standing to see him out.

"I have to make my presence known in your life somehow," Klaus joked, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek when they approached user front door. "I shall see you soon."

"Keep your daughter safe. I can't wait to meet her," Caroline told him gently, grabbing onto his hand at the last moment and giving it an affectionate squeeze as he walked it of the door. "Take care."

Klaus merely nodded, almost dumbstruck by her open gesture before offering her a tight lipped smile and leaving. Closing the door, Caroline sighed heavily. His scent still lingered and she was sure it would for a while. It made her inexplicably happy.


	4. How Drunk Are You Right Now? - Caroline

_**Klaroline - "How drunk are you right now?"**_

Requested by anon

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><p>Caroline found him in the study, lounging on the couch with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He was slouched lazily, lifting his head up only when she entered.<p>

"How drunk are you right now?" she asked carefully, eyeing him to see if she could gauge his mood as well. She needed him happy and preferably pliant. Being drunk would definitely help her case.

"How drunk do you want me to be?" he countered, swirling the remains of his drink in the tumbler before saluting her with it and downing it in one gulp.

"Probably more than you are," she muttered to herself. He raised a brow at her statement, hearing it clear as a shout with his supernatural hearing.

"What's going on?" Klaus asked cautiously, starting to sit up. Caroline stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back against the couch before taking his empty glass from him and putting it to the side. Slowly, she climbed onto him to straddle his lap, kicking his thighs gently with her feet to make him close his legs so she could sit on them. He reluctantly yielded.

"I need a favour," she told him honestly, hands resting lightly on his neck to keep him in place. "The thing is, I have a friend who's on his way to visit right now and I kinda need you _not_ to kill him."

"You're right; I _do_ need to be drunk for this," Klaus grumbled, tilting his head up even in her grip to look up at her. Sighing, he gestured with a hand for her to continue. "Who?"

"Enzo..." she answered slowly. Klaus' features tightened into a mask of annoyance and anger, his whole body going rigid under her. Slipping her hands down to his chest, she played with the buttons on his top and the necklaces that peek over the neckline. "I know you guys have your differences but he's my friend and I would love to see him," she added sweetly.

He exhaled heavily but remained silent, eyes boring into her own. She held his stare for as long as he did.

The two men were far from friends. Enzo held little to no respect for the fact that Klaus was not only the Original Hybrid but could kill him as easily with a stake as with his hand or teeth, and Klaus thought of Enzo as a disgrace to the vampire race and would easily rectify.

Of course, her friendship with Enzo didn't help either, not when he used it as a 'get out of jail free card' to antagonize and tease Klaus. Caroline was honestly impressed that the most her boyfriend had ever done to her close friend was snapping his neck. She knew it was only for her (it was always only for her) and she was grateful for that. But there was only a much a man like Klaus could handle before reaching his breaking point. His anger was one thing to reel in, but his jealousy was a whole other. Klaus didn't deal well nor play nice with anyone who claimed her attention away from him. It made for some explosive and passionate sex, excessive public displays of affection and generally a much more possessive attitude. Not that she minded, but she would never explicitly state it as such. That kind of behaviour didn't need her encouragement.

"When?" Klaus finally asked gruffly, dropping his hands onto her legs.

"In a few hours," she answered.

"_A_ _few hours?_" he repeated in disbelief, brows raised and a frown tugging at his lips.

"Yeah. He didn't give me much of a heads up, but you know what Enzo's like. He'll jump in the car and just end up on his way here before he even realised it. At least he warned us this time," she reasoned with a bright smile, reminding them both of the previous time where he had simply showed up at their door. It had taken a good day of drinking to convince Klaus not to rip his intestines out for showing such familiarity with their home.

"Hmm," Klaus hummed, noncommittal. "He's not staying here this time."

"Wouldn't you rather he be here, staying out of trouble than out there causing fights with the residents?" Caroline reasoned only to receive a short sarcastic chuckle in reply.

"Not really, love," he told her, squeezing her legs softly. "It'd give me a reason to kill him, or throw him into the Garden at least."

"Klaus," Caroline warned him but he merely shrugged it off. Lowering her head, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his fiercely but not allowing him access into his mouth when he tried. Pulling away, she dragged her mouth across his stubbled jaw and up to nibble the lobe of his ear. His hands moved to her lower back and pressed her tighter into him. She shifted closer, feeling his arousal through his jeans between the juncture of her legs. "Please?"

"If you're trying to seduce me, you might want to start losing clothes," he informed her with a sly smile. Leaning back, she looped her arms around his neck and buried her fingers into his hair.

"How about we help each other?" she suggested, running her hands under his top to stroke his stomach and abdomen, revelling in the feel of his smooth skin and tight muscles. Capturing his lips in a sensual kiss, she allowed him to take charge when he sat up and began stripping her of her clothes.

Her cardigan was on the floor before she knew it and his hands had untied the bow at the back of her top allowing the slight breeze in the room to cool her skin. If she had still been able to form any sort of coherent thought, she would have realise that there had been no breeze in the study.

"Now _this_ is a welcome, gorgeous," Enzo drawled, eliciting a yelp from Caroline and deep growl from Klaus. He moved to get up but she held him down with the little power she had, tightening her legs around his and pressing her hands against his chest.

"You said you'd be a few hours!" she yelled at him over her shoulder at where he stood in the doorway.

"I lied," Enzo commented with a wide, teasing smile.

"Leave before I ensure you cannot speak a lie, or another word even, _ever again_," Klaus gritted out between clenched teeth. Rubbing soothing circles between his shoulder blades over his shoulder, Caroline silently thanked whatever higher being there might be for his restraint to not simply place her aside on the couch and dismember the other vampire regardless.

"I'll be in the other room. I saw a sidebar and the drive from Virginia was a dry one. Don't take too long, will you?" Enzo told them before turning on his heel and no doubt going to where he had stated.

Sighing, Caroline loosened her grip around Klaus and gave him an apologetic smile. His unimpressed glare was enough to tell her that it was going to be a long week or two.


	5. No, That Can't Be My Baby

**_Klaus - "No, that can't be my baby."_**

Requested by anon.

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><p>"Klaus?"<p>

Caroline's head snapped up from where she had been whispering gossip into Klaus' ear to look at the brunette who had approached their table. The couple were huddled up on the top floor of a club in a private booth, spending some precious time together with Rebekah enjoying the music and Elijah off playing a round of poker with some other vampires.

"_What?_" Klaus growled out at the woman, wrapping the arm that he had flung over Caroline's lap tighter so she was pulled more into his side. Her knees rested on his thigh with an arm looped around his neck, and she was sure they both projected the need for '_alone time'_ as they acted like lovebirds who had just gotten together (as opposed to the 4 years they had been in a relationship).

"I need to talk to you," she stated before sliding into the booth on the other side of the table. Caroline narrowed her eyes at the stranger, wondering what it was about her that gave her the confidence to approach them when it was clear they were sharing a private evening.

"About?" Klaus merely asked again.

"You do remember me, don't you?" the brunette asked slightly hesitantly.

"Yes," he replied simply and in a bored tone, trying to hurry things up to get to the point.

"I don't," Caroline interjected in confusion. Klaus sighed and threw out a hand to gesture at the other woman as he spoke.

"This is Millicent; she's a local witch and an… _acquaintance_ of mine from a few years back," he explained, though she noticed a look of annoyance on Millicent's face at his choice of words.

"I was more than a acquaintance," Millicent stated in disdain and Caroline caught hint of what was going on here. Pursing her lips, she unintentionally checked out the pretty woman, from her hair to her eyes to the clothes she had on and the nails on her fingers. She couldn't fault her; she had style. But as a witch, she was also alive and if there was one thing Caroline had on her, it was her youth.

Klaus waved a hand to dismiss her words. "Yes, yes, as were a lot of others. What is it that you wanted?" he prompted her. Caroline push away the awkwardness at the remind of the _thousands_ (slight exaggeration, probably) of woman Klaus had been with before her. Like he had told her, it didn't matter who came before her but only that no-one would came after her.

"Very well, if you insist on doing this here…" Millicent huffed, pulling out her phone and tapping away to pull up what she needed before sliding it over the table to Klaus. "That is our child."

"Impossible," Klaus immediately shot down, offering the phone back after a simple glance at the image of a toddler. Caroline reached out for his wrist, tilting the screen towards her so she could see the photo. It was clearly older than the phone itself.

"How old is she now?" she asked curiously.

"Thirteen," Millicent answered, eyes fixed on Klaus as she took her phone back.

"Well, the timeline might be accurate but I assure you, you are incorrect. I should have you imprisoned for trying to play me for a fool, or was it to gain some kind of favour?" he snarled darkly. Millicent refused to shrink under his glare and Caroline had to respect her for that. Running a hand over the nape of his neck, she felt him relax under her touch and relent in the beginning of his interrogation. "Leave the city before midnight, with _your _child, and I will not have you hunted down."

Millicent threw him one final look before leaving with all the confidence she had arrived with, not being deterred by Klaus' easy dismissal, though Caroline had no doubt that she would adhere by his threat and be out of the city by midnight.

Sitting in silence for a moment, she turned to Klaus before asking, "Are you sure? You said the timing was right."

He shook his head and looked her in the eye. "No, that can't be my baby, Caroline. Thirteen years ago, I was still dragging around my siblings in their coffins and looking for the new doppelganger," he informed her specifically, pausing for her to catch his drift, which didn't take more than a second.

"You weren't a hybrid," she concluded in realisation. Had it truly been just under 13 years since the Mikaelsons had rocked up in Mystic Falls and turned her life upside down? It had led her down a path of self-realisation and she liked the destination she had come too, however long it had taken her. Letting out a low laugh, she patted him on the shoulder after slingging her arm back around his neck. "One miracle baby and everybody's jumping on that bandwagon, huh?"

"Caroline…" Klaus growled warningly, not impressed with her jokes. It only kept her going, however.

"How many others do we have to worry about? I mean, that redhead - what was her name? Genevieve! - is dead but I'm sure you had a few others before I came here. Do we need to get some lab staff on retainer to carry out paternity tests?" she asked rhetorically, putting on a serious face to pass her teasing as honestly as she could.

"I'm glad you're finding this amusing," he gritted out, the start of a petulant pout forming on his lips that only served to send Caroline into a silent bout of laughter.

"I really am," she giggled, rolling her eyes when he huffed and glanced away into the crowds downstairs. Pressing her lips to his cheek, she claimed his attention once again. "Oh, lighten up, Klaus. I'm joking! You know I'd rather rip out the hearts of any woman who has had their hands on you, but I like to think I'm better than that so I'll settle for killing them in my mind and then having my wicked way with you in _our_ bed."

The image of her committing murder along with the addition of mentioning sex was enough to brighten his mood. If nothing else, Klaus was as predictable as the next man when it came to distracting him from his thoughts. "Is that so?" he drawled, running his hand up her leg and under the skirt of her dress, causing her breath to hitch when he reached the sensitive skin on the inside of her thighs.

"Well, perhaps the bed is a bit of a stretch right now," she murmured before finding herself being tugged out of the booth and whisked out of the club in a whirlwind.


	6. I'm Dying - Klaus

_**Klaus - "I'm dying."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>"Klaus?" Caroline greeted when she answered her phone. It wasn't that he didn't call her, it was just that it was rare and their conversations mostly began with her calling him or preceded by a few hours of text messages. It had been a whilst since she had heard of him, and the phone call was out of the blue.<p>

"_Hello, sweetheart. How are you?"_ his smooth-like-honey voice, lilting every word with his beautiful accent, came through her handset.

"I'm fine," she replied warily, taking a seat on her bed and crossing her legs to get comfortable. She didn't know why, but she felt as if this was going to an intense conversation. "How are you?"

"_Not that good, actually, love,"_ Klaus chuckled dryly. "_It seems that I'm dying."_

"I'm sorry; you're _what?!_" she exclaimed after a pause. "For a second there I thought you said you were _dying_."

"_You haven't gone senile, Caroline. That is exactly what I said," _he assured her in amusement, and she could practically see his smirk. If they had been in the same room as opposed to two different states, she would have slapped it right off his face.

"How?" she asked in disbelief. "I mean, you're _you._ You can't be dying."

"_Some of the French Quarter witches weren't happy with their equal status with the rest of us," _Klaus gritted out in chagrin. Caroline knew all about his takeover of New Orleans and how, with the help of Elijah, they had created a peaceful city for all the supernatural beings and humans to live with one another. It meant, however, that no one race was greater than the other (unless they were an Original, of course) and after years of being oppressed, some of the witches had found it unacceptable. It seemed like it had now all come to head. "_They have cursed me with the inability to consume blood. I will slowly desiccate and, well, who knows what after?"_

"But there's a way around it, right? Every spell has a counterspell, or a loophole," Caroline tried. She wrapped an arm around her waist to ease the tightness that squeezed at her stomach and made her feel nauseous.

"_We have been looking, and we will do so. Unfortunately, the lack of blood has taken a toll on me and my dear brother has gotten me bound to the house,"_ he laughed darkly, shocking her with his honesty. She couldn't imagine Klaus as anything but the hybrid king that he was; the Alpha of Alphas and the mightiest creature to walk the earth. To be so weak that he couldn't go out was not him.

"How long has it been? Doesn't it take, like, years to desiccate a vampire? Can a hybrid even desiccate?" she questioned, not allowing him to answer one before throwing another at him. He waited for her to finish patiently before answered.

"_Apparently, it seems like even a hybrid can pay the price for not consuming blood. Though it may take much more time than a normal vampire, I feel as if the curse they have placed on me had sped up the desiccation process," _Klaus admitted with a bite, a new bout of anger overtaking him at the thought of what the witches had done to him. "_It has been about five months now, love. Though it feels like five decades since I last tasted blood."_

"Five _months_?!" Caroline all but screamed. "Its been five months and you only tell me now! What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you think you could have mentioned this before?"

"_I didn't know you cared so much, love," _he defended himself, though she could hear the underlying teasing tone. Ignoring it, she got to her feet and began pacing, unable to keep still with her pent up emotions.

"Of course I care, you idiot," she snapped before sighing. She had stopped by her vanity desk when she caught sight of the drawing of the horse and her that he had given her over six years earlier. It was the first of many drawings she had received but it was the only one she had framed. "What about us? Our future? I was kinda counting on you to still be there when I turned up in New Orleans one day to show me around."

"_You were, were you?"_ Klaus asked in a whisper, taken aback by her confession. It had always been him who spoke about their future, but to hear her do the same only confirmed what he had known all along; they belonged together. "_I wish you hadn't taken so long."_

"I wish you hadn't gone and gotten yourself cursed 'cause I wanted to see the world with you too," she retorted, running a hand through her hair before sighing when he chuckled. "I can be there by tomorrow-"

"_No,"_ was all Klaus said, cutting her off before she could finish.

"Klaus," she said desperately, gripping onto the edge of her desk chair and she turned her back on the drawing. "I want to help. Maybe I can do something, anything."

"_You really think you could come up with something when my brother and the rest of the New Orleans witches haven't?"_ he asked skeptically, making her huff at his attitude.

"We came up with something when the rest of the world hadn't for a thousand years," she countered, reminding him about the times where her friends and herself had managed to smart him to the point of almost killing him. Of course, she didn't bring up the fact that he had still been one step ahead and carried on before he could either. "I have Bonnie on my side and she's a Bennett witch."

"_A non practicing Bennett witch,"_ Klaus reminded her.

Nodding to herself, she sat back down onto her bed and argued her point, refusing to give up. "But a Bennett witch nonetheless. She has all the grimoires we could need. If its not in there, then we'll start somewhere else."

"_Caroline, love, please do not hold onto false hope. I might not be possible to help this time," _he stated softly, trying to let her down gently before she threw herself into this with all that she was and being hurt by the fact she couldn't help.

"There's one thing you're going to need to know about me, Klaus. If someone tells me I cannot do something, I try to prove them wrong. So the more you try to deter me, the more I'll go against you," Caroline informed him defiantly, smiling to herself when she heard him pause before answering back.

"_I wouldn't expect less from you,"_ he stated honestly with a tinge of pride that caused her heart to skip a beat. He cleared his throat before changing the subject. "_Are you sure the Bennett witch will want to even help me?"_

"Yes," she replied immediately before retreating with a wince when she truly thought about it. Sheepishly, she added, "Well, maybe not help _you_, but I'll ask her and she'll do it for me."

"_If you're sure,"_ he relented before taking a breath that indicated that he had something else to say. Caroline waited in silence until he carried on. "_I didn't call for your help. I simply wanted to hear your voice and perhaps says goodbye. And maybe apologise for not being able to keep my promise of being your last love."_

That got her going once again, anger building up into annoyance at his simple dismissal and giving up. "You spent two years terrorising me, chasing after me even though I had a boyfriend and eventually running him out of town. You sweet talked me, gave me _crazy_ expensive gifts and drew pictures for me, which can I just say totally goes against your villain status," she snapped sassily before sighing and softening her words. "I didn't put up with all that for you to go back on your promise. I haven't been able to maintain a proper relationship since you left because all I could think about is how useless it would be if it'll end with us anyways. So you better pay up, mister, otherwise I will make sure you never get to rest peacefully, even in your desiccated state. Got it?"

"_I suppose I don't have a choice,"_ Klaus replied, laughing gently. "_I shall see you soon, Caroline."_

"You will," she confirmed before hanging up, not giving him the chance to say 'goodbye' as he had intended to when he had first made the phone call even if it wasn't for good.


	7. I'm Pregnant and Its Yours

_**Caroline - "I'm pregnant and it's yours."**_

Requested by klaroline-stempley.

* * *

><p>Klaus raised an eyebrow when he entered their bedroom, pausing halfway towards the bathroom to look at Caroline. She was sat on the sofa in the sitting area of the room, giggling to herself. More specifically, to her stomach.<p>

"What is that?" he asked incredulously, seeing a small bulge under her top. Technically, it was _his_ top but as he had once said (and she liked to point out whenever it suited her), what was his was hers too.

"What do you think it is, Klaus?" Caroline asked, amused, sitting up straighter.

"It's moving," he replied, pointing out the obvious. She looked up at him and pressed her lips into a tight line, though the mirth that clearly played on her features ruined her mask of seriousness.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you so here it goes; I'm pregnant, and it's yours," she stated, placing both hands on her stomach to cause the movement underneath to cease momentarily before a tiny white head popped out from under the hem. "Oh, look! It's a puppy!"

Dumbstruck, he inched closer until he was stood behind the couch opposite her. "Are you drunk, love? You're awfully giddy," he enquired, eyes never leaving the Maltese puppy that now tumbled around on her lap.

Caroline shook her head, falling back against the sofa and allowing the puppy to clumsily climb up to her stomach, this time above her clothes. "I just love puppies. Don't you?"

"Not particularly, no," he said nonchalantly, pursing his lips when she smirked up at him whilst collecting the puppy into her hands and lifting it up.

"How did I know you'd say that?" she laughed before turning her sights onto the puppy and pouting slightly as she spoke in a lower tone. "Maybe because he's a _grumpy old man _who only likes himself."

Scoffing, Klaus shook his head. "Now, we both know that's not true. I like you, too," he stated before walking away towards the bathroom as he had intended. He heard her gasp dramatically and threw a look over his shoulder to see her gently shake the puppy as it wriggled in joy, lapping up her attention with soft barks.

"He likes me, Cajun! Did you hear that? He _really_ likes me!" Caroline gushed exaggeratedly, tossing him a wink when she caught his eye.

"What kind of name is 'Cajun'? For a dog, no less," he asked roughly, knowing his disbelief echoed off the tiles in the en suite for her to hear clearly as he washed his hands and face to get rid of the grime (and flecks of blood) after a day of ruling the city.

"I don't know, Rebekah named him," she informed him matter-of-factly, making him groan.

"Oh, no. That dog is not staying here. I refuse to host any _pets_ in my house," he said strictly, any and all sense of amusement gone at the smallest thought of his sister defying him to keep the annoying little animal.

"Where did you think he came from Klaus? Did you really think I'd let a rabid puppy in here?" Caroline called back, annoyance clear in her voice.

"I was hoping he was a snack or at the very least, a dog _you_ wanted," he retorted dryly, tossing the wash cloth aside and leaving the bathroom for the closet to get changed.

"You would let him stay if he was mine?" she asked hopefully. Klaus turned to face her before he made it to the closet, shaking his head.

"No. It would simply be easier to tell you to get rid of him. You understand me better," he stated, pointing a finger at her.

Cuddling the puppy up to her face, she threw him one of her sunny smiles. "I do, which is why I say we're keeping him. Rebekah has already bought what's needed and we've all bonded."

"I do hate it when you all conspire against me. I preferred the days when the two of you hated each other," Klaus said, sighing heavily and running a hand through his hair. At a thousand years old, he knew how to pick his battles and when it was best to build up his good deeds in the eyes of his love. "Very well. _But_ I will not ever take any responsibility for it nor will it ever stay in our room."

"Agreed!" she hurriedly exclaimed before calling out in the direction of the main bedroom doors. "_Bekah!"|_

Klaus rolled his eyes, knowing he had been set up and fallen for their plan. He could hear his sister's footsteps near the room as he entered the closet to get changed out of his day clothes.

"Has he given in?" Rebekah asked carefully.

"Yup. Told you I'd manage it," Caroline replied joyfully, and he could hear the little Maltese yapping away quietly as it was exchanged hands.

"I hate to think what would happen to my city if the two of you ever decided to form a coup against me. I daresay you'd win," Klaus commented wryly, leaning against the doorjamb of the closet with his arms crossed and a stoic look. "Well played, ladies. Now leave, sister, and do not come back until the morning."

He didn't miss the way Caroline eyed up his half naked form, having forgone a top for the very purpose of eliciting such a response. Just because he had given in to her request to keep the damn puppy didn't mean he wouldn't claim some sort of compensation for it. Running his tongue over his lips unconsciously, he smirked at her reaction, watching as she bit the inside of her mouth to keep herself from repeating the gesture.

"_Gross_," Rebekah spat out, shooting them both glares before resting on her brother as she turned on her heel to stomp away, puppy in hand. "At least wait until I've left the room, Nik!"

Chuckling softly but arrogantly, he waited until the door clicked shut before pushing himself off the wall and sped up to Caroline. His hybrid speed meant that she wasn't prepared for him, letting out a squeal as he all but lifted her up and tossed her onto the bed.

Her gasp of his name was a sound that he ensured rolled off her beautiful tongue for hours afterwards.


	8. I'm Bad For You

**_Klaus - "I'm bad for you."_**

Requested by anon.

* * *

><p>They bursted through her bedroom door in her little college apartment joint at the lips, hands hurriedly attacking each other's clothes as they tried to feel one another as quick as they could. They broke apart only for the notion of taking a breath, to assist with removing an article of clothing or to groan the other's name.<p>

The sound of Klaus moaning her name against the column of her neck as he worked on unfastening her jeans was one of the sweetest sounds she had ever heard.

Hearing his name leave her lips like a prayer after she pushed him back onto her single bed, and standing above him to take him in, was the one of many moments in their growing relationship he still could not comprehend as reality.

Caroline climbed onto him, straddling his boxer-covered groin and lowering herself onto him. He let out a low hiss at the contact, knowing he could feel her damp warmth even through her thin lace panties that added another layer of barrier between them.

Leaning forwards, she allowed her hair to gently curl on his smooth chest, covering up the tattoos that she loved to explore and trace with her fingers and tongue, until her mouth met his. The kiss was languid this time, with all the raw passion of the last coiled tightly into the way their tongues fought for dominance with the other.

She smiled when Klaus gave in, allowing her to take charge of the kiss as his hands roamed over her bare back and down to her backside before curling around her thighs. Letting out a low groan of pleasure at the feel of his touch on the sensitised skin of her inner thighs, she clenched them tighter against his hips and pressed herself harder against him.

The motion broke them both out of their liplock; Caroline to close her eyes and sigh wantingly at the torture between her legs, and Klaus to throw his head back and growl deep in his throat.

She felt his hands move in one quick brush up her legs to her hips before he rolled them fluidly until she was flat on her back with him hovering over her. Cradled between her legs, he kept himself only an inch above her. Enough so they could feel the heat of each other but not the torture of their almost joined bodies.

Looping her arms around his neck, Caroline pulled him down for a kiss. A softer one, she ran one hand through his hair lovingly whilst the other tangled with his necklaces. She could feel them move against her chest with every breath, and when she tilted her head back, he followed her lips and dragged the pendants that touched her skin along her cleavage and into the hollow of her throat.

Klaus pulled away to duck his head slightly, a hand leaving her waist to come up to her neck and gently push away his necklaces. Caroline kept her head back as he shifted down her body to replace them with his lips, ghostly over her clavicle until he reached her shoulder and suckled lightly right above where her carotid artery pumped.

Tightening her hold on him, she pressed against the space between his shoulder blades to keep him in place, moaning loudly and gasping his name when she felt his human teeth graze her skin.

"I'm bad for you, Caroline," he murmured against her skin, her name rolling off his tongue in the most beautiful way she had ever heard it. "I want you. I want all of you, over and over, so much."

"Then take me," she sighed, running her hand over his hair once again as she stretched her neck to the side to give him more to work with. "Take me as you want, and I will do the same."

Caroline let out an involuntary whimper of loss when he pulled away from her neck. "I'm bad for you," he repeated, muttering against her lips. "I want your blood on my lips as I make love to you and I'll never want it any other way again."

She shuddered at the image, lust running through her veins as the need for him intensified. The need to let her vampire instincts take over, as they had wanted to many times before. The need to bury her fangs into his neck, or shoulder, or arm, as he buried himself inside her. The need to feel his blood rush through her as the orgasm he created in her body lit every nerve on fire.

"Then lets be bad together," she stated huskily, reclaiming his lips with her own and wrapping her legs around his waist to pull him onto her. If this was what he perceived as being 'bad', then she didn't want whatever would be 'good'.


	9. Is That My Shirt?

_**Caroline - "Is that my shirt?"**_

Requested by anon.

* * *

><p>"Is that my shirt?" Caroline asked when he stepped into the kitchen where she was currently sat, enjoying a cup of coffee and <em>B positive <em>by herself.

Glancing down at his top, Klaus plucked at the hem of the white henley and shook his head. "No, my love. I believe this is _my_ shirt," he stated, going straight to the fridge to fix of his own glass of blood.

"It was in my side of the closet though, wasn't it?" she questioned, turning in her chair to eye him over the back of it.

"That doesn't make it yours," he replied slowly, smirking as her petulant pout. "Just as driving _my_ car does not make it _yours_, wearing _my_ clothes do not make them _yours _either."

"What happened to 'all you have to do is ask'?" Caroline grumbled, placing her chin atop of her folded hands on the back of the chair.

Sighing contently, he joined her at the table with his warmed up cup; dropping a kiss to the top of her head as he passed her to his seat. "You never asked, sweetheart."


	10. I Know Your Secret

**_Caroline - "I know your secret."_**

Requested by anon.

* * *

><p>Caroline scowled as she saw her boyfriend (for a lack of a better word) approach the campus cafe where she currently sat, enjoying her soy latte and catching up on some celebrity gossip from a mindless magazine.<p>

Her hostile attitude did nothing to deter him; walking up to her table with his trademark smirk and those stupid aviator sunglasses that he felt was necessary to wear everyday. She regretted the impulse she had when buying them, thinking it would complete the Original Hybrid's dark and mysterious look.

It did.

She hadn't thought Klaus could ever look more attractive than when dressed in his fitted jeans, tight henley, a few necklaces and that leather jacket of his. But then she had added the sunglasses and suddenly it wasn't only her noticing just how gorgeous _her_ man was.

Every-_freaking_-day.

And that was only when he was visiting her at college as opposed to being down in New Orleans running his city. Caroline shuddered to think about the reactions he might be getting down in the Big Easy (there were too many retorts she could make on _that_ but she thought herself above name calling of those she hadn't met). Just because she trusted him to stay faithful to her didn't mean she trust the rest of mankind to respect that.

"Good afternoon, sweetheart," Klaus greeted her, taking the empty seat on her right. "I missed you this morning."

"I had an early class," she huffed, trying her best not to glance at him when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes. He placed his glasses next to her cup of coffee, and when she peered out from under her lashes, she could see a passing girl smile at him flirtatiously via the reflection.

"Pity. You should have woken me. I would have been more than happy to tag along," he answered with a saddened tone she knew he was faking. He finally got her attention when he reached out for her drink, smacking his hand away before it even reached the handle and looking up to glare at him.

"_Do not_ touch my coffee," she growled under her breath. "Its bad enough you don't have any at your place, don't make me go through the rest of the day without this one cup."

"There's no need for coffee at my place," he replied coolly, sitting back in his seat with his hands folded on top of the table. She cocked an eyebrow at him, urging him to explain. "I'm only there once every few months, and even then, its for a couple of days or so. Why stock up when the only reason I'm ever there is to spend time with you?"

Caroline softened at his explanation, offering him a gentle smile at his sweet words before remembering she was meant to be annoyed with him. Huffing, she flicked her hair over her shoulder and sat back. "Well, if you're barely using it, you shouldn't have bought the apartment in the first place."

"And where would I stay when I came to see you? The last I checked, your friends were not my biggest fans and you still had that silly 'no boys' rule for your room," Klaus scoffed halfheartedly, eyes glittering in amusement at Elena, Bonnie and her rule. He had never failed to push it every time he came to visit, and she never failed to keep him out every time. It was the least she could do when the other two had kept to their end of the deal, even if her boyfriend was the most trying.

"Its 'no boy_friends_', and its not silly. Its keeps everyone happy and alive," she snapped back, sipping at her coffee nonchalantly.

Klaus nodded once and pursed his lips momentarily, fingers tapping at the table gently. "I see today is one of _those_ days, huh, love?" he murmured with a questioning look.

"_Excuse me?_" Caroline instantly replied coolly, gazing at him over the rim of her cup as she downed the last of her latte.

"Nothing, nothing. Forget I said anything," he hurriedly dismissed with a wave of the hand and lips curving into a loving smile. She placed her cup back down onto the table with exaggerated precision before silently closing up the magazine she had been reading and leaning over her chair to tuck it into her bag. "What class do you have next?"

"Introduction to Human Anatomy," she informed him as she straightened back up to see him nod politely (gentlemanly, if the term could still apply to him) at a group of girls who unabashedly tried to claim his attention from three tables over. "Did you want to come along or stay here and teach _them_ about _hybrid_ anatomy?"

His eyes jumped to her, a smirk playing at his lips as he leant in to whisper, "Caroline, I do believe your jealousy is showing. I must admit; I find it very sexy."

"I am _not_ jealous!" she hissed back but Klaus merely raised an eyebrow, telling her he didn't believe her. "I'm not!" she repeated, and he finally relented.

"Alright, good. Because you have nothing to be jealous about. I have eyes only for you," he told her, reaching out to push back her hair and peck her sweetly on her lips.

"I know," Caroline replied confidently, and slightly smugly even if she said so herself. A smile curved her mouth upwards, basking in the knowledge that he was truly hers. Granted, she knew it, but some reiteration never hurt, especially when they spent so much time apart.

"...even if many people have eyes only for me," he added with a grin, causing her to laugh dryly.

"You're hopeless, you know that? How is there even space for me in this relationship when your ego takes up so much?" she questioned with a saccharine smile.

He took hold of her hand and held it gently as he spoke. "There's always space for you, love. In my life, my heart, my city, my bed…" he trailed off with that trademark dirty smirk of his that made her want to take him there and then. But she wouldn't because she had more class than that, and there was no way she would let the girls _still_ glancing over at him see any more of him.

Bending over to speak into his ear as she stood up, she whispered, "Bet you say that to all the girls who buy you shades," before picking up her back and it onto her shoulder.

Klaus looked at her innocently. "Am I not supposed to? I'm still not very clear on these relationship rules," he stated, waving a hand as he spoke before standing up in one fluid motion.

"You're not funny. Like, ever," she retorted, turning around to walk away when she saw him pick up his sunglasses and go to put them on. Grabbing his wrist, she snatched them out of his hands. "And gimme those. You're banned from wearing them around my campus," she informed him before sliding them on herself. He all but pouted as he followed her to her next class.

"Perhaps I'll go and sit with that sweet redhead over there. How long do you think it would take for me to convince her to buy me another pair?" Klaus questioned, nodding towards a girl who was sat on a bench by the building they were heading into.

"Longer than it would take me to spill the beans about your true identity," Caroline replied, stopping to face him and poke him in the chest with a menacing look. "Unlike her, I know your secret, Klaus. I know _all_ your secrets. Don't you forget that."

The smile on his face could only have been described as adoring when he nodded and accepted her argument. "Like I ever could."


	11. You Mean Everything To Me

_**Klaroline - "You mean everything to me."**_

Requestied by anon.

* * *

><p>It started out as murmurs, followed by whispers and then rumours. Caroline had turned up in New Orleans, ready to take Klaus up on his offer to show her all of what the city held, a couple of years earlier. After seeing New Orleans, they had left and discovered a small portion of the world, but much more of each other.<p>

When they returned, however, was when she noticed everyone talking about her. It seemed that their absence had created a rumour mill around the supernatural community, all wondering about the blonde baby vampire (she was over four decades old, thank you very much) who had taken their king away in a flurry of smiles, and arrived again together and absolutely in love.

She sat in Rousseau's with a book she had picked up in Bogota. It was slow going due to her basic Spanish, but she was improving. Every time she finished a chapter, she had a shot. Alcoholism might have been a side effect of spending too much time with Klaus, she realised, but ignored it for the new conversation between two males her vampire hearing picked up.

"_That's her. Caroline, something. Do you know her last name?"_

"_Mikaelson? Who knows what they did in the two years they were gone?"_

"_I hear she's got something over Klaus, something that keeps her claws in him."_

"_For over two years? She's a vampire, not a witch. The only thing she might have over him is leaving his bed cold."_ They both chuckled at that and Caroline resisted the urge to go punch them out. She could feel their eyes quickly glance at her and it was all she could do to remind herself of their fates if Klaus were to find out _why_ she had attacked him.

"_She hasn't got a bad deal either. All that power and money at her hands."_

"_I doubt its the money she's after. She's under their protection which means she's got a good long life ahead of her."_

"_What did I say? Not a bad deal."_

They clinked their glasses and carried on with another line of conversation, clearly satisfied with their little gossip session. It wasn't the first time she had overheard comments made about her and it would definitely not be the last. The fact that they didn't try to hide it only showed how little they thought of her. They would never say a word if she was with anyone else (especially Klaus) but the minute she was caught alone, the gossip started to flow.

Realising she was reading the same line over and over, Caroline shook her head and shut her book. Settling her tab with the bartender, she held her head up high as she walked out of the bar, passing the table where the two men who had been talking about her sat. She was above them both (above them _all_, according to Klaus) and she wouldn't let their antics get her down.

Only, with nothing else to do and no-one to talk to about it, there was nothing to distract her from what she had heard. And with that came the other voices she had overheard saying more or less the same things until she couldn't do anything but play it over and over in her head.

"Caroline?" Klaus' voice broke her out of her thoughts, glancing up to see him look at her worriedly. "Something wrong?"

Shaking her head, she offered him a small smile. Caught up in her own mind, she hadn't realised she had made her way to his studio. "Just thinking. Nice painting."

"Thank you, love," he smiled, turning back to the landscape he was currently working on. "Its inspired by the sunrise we saw whilst in O'ahu."

"Hmm," she hummed noncommittally. Art wasn't her forte but she could appreciate the beauty and hard work he put into each piece of work he did. "That was a good day."

"It was," Klaus agreed, greeting her with a loving kiss when she came up next to him and ran a hand over his back. Breaking away, she smiled when he pressed his lips to her temple before going to perch gently against his desk. She pick up the snowglobe she had brought him from DisneyWorld a few years earlier, shaking it to make the glitter move around and remember the days she had spent Spring Break in Florida with her childhood friends.

"I'm going to go back to college," she announced suddenly, resting the snow globe against her legs as she looked up at Klaus. "At Tulane."

"Alright," he replied easily.

"And I'm going to move out," she added, waiting with bated breath for his response. She didn't have to wait long for him to freeze momentarily; brush stopping mid-stroke and a frown appearing on his features.

"Move where?" he asked just as easily as before but she could see the tension in each and every one of his muscles as they tensed under his top.

"Onto campus, like a normal student."

"You're not a normal student, Caroline," Klaus informed her, a slight bitter tone to his words that she ignored, having grown use to his moods and knowing not to be personally offended by it.

"I know, but I want to be. Klaus, I want friends. I want to go to college, actually finish a degree and do it with my _friends_," she told him, lowering her eyes onto the snow globe in her hands and smiling wryly. "I don't have anything here for a life, Klaus. I don't have a job, a family, any friends. I do _nothing_ all day."

He put his brush down during her speech and stepped closer to her. "You have me," he said softly.

Looking up, Caroline allowed a soft smile to grace her features. "I know, and you mean _everything_ to me. I love you, but I need something else too. I need a life. You have the city. What about me?"

"You can have whatever you want, sweetheart. I'll give you anything you ask for," Klaus reminded her, reaching out to cup her face and gently caress her cheek with his thumb. "Are you unhappy here?"

Caroline sighed and shook her head. "Just bored," she told him before biting her lip and adding, "and lonely."

Klaus inhaled deeply and she could see the turmoil in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Caroline. If I had known-"

"No, its not your fault," she quickly cut him off, placing the snow globe back onto the desk and taking his hand in hers. "My life can't revolve around you. It can't just be about you, or us. Just like yours can't be all about me or us either. We'd end up resenting each other."

At her words, he took her face into both his hands and looked deeply into her eyes as he spoke. "I could never resent you, my love," he murmured before bringing her into a passion-filled kiss that managed to evade all other thoughts from her mind.


	12. How Drunk Are You Right Now? - Klaus

**_Klaus - "How drunk are you right now?"_**

Requested by anon.

* * *

><p>Walking into the Mystic Grill, Klaus didn't even have the need to peer around to find Caroline. Her bubbly laughter and light (but loud) voice was clear to hear over the hubbub of the crowd. One look at the way she wobbled slightly on her heels by the bar was enough to see exactly how much she must have drunk.<p>

"Klaus!" she exclaimed excitedly when he approached her, claiming her attention from the story she was telling Elena with excessive have gestures. A wide grin spread on her face when she spotted him, eyes lighting up that only made him smile back at her. "What are you doing here, baby?" The pet name made him falter, cringing internally but chose not to comment on it currently.

"I am here to take you home," he informed her, resting a hand on the small of her back. He ignored her friend, sensing her scrutinising glare deep into the side of his head. He was use to it and had mastered the art of ignoring it rather than gouging out the eyes that dared to stare at him over the past months since Caroline had agreed to be with him. It was the least he could do for her.

"You are?" she asked in confusion, picking up the half-finished drink (bourbon, a habit she'd picked up from him) from the bar top. Klaus snatched it from her hand and downed it in one go, placing the glass back onto the bar just as the barkeep, Matt, arrived.

"Yes. For some reason, your quarterback friend seems to think I'm at his beck and call to taxi you around," he remarked with a nod and scowl towards the human.

Klaus had to appreciate the blind courage the jock had when he scoffed and retorted, "You came, didn't you?"

Opening his mouth to tell him the only reason why he came, he was cut off before he began when Caroline wrapped her arm around his waist and cuddled up to him. "Shush! Don't be mean to him, he means nice," she reprimanded her friend before pulling a face when she realised her words had made no sense. "To nice? To _be_ nice?" she tried, brow scrunched up in concentration as she struggled to make sense. If it wasn't for the huge crowds (and admittedly, his reputation) Klaus would have kissed the adorable look right off her face.

"That's the one, love," he assured her with a smile before tugging her with him as he stepped back. "Now, lets get going, shall we?"

Caroline nodded and allowed him to lead her towards the exit, shouting goodbyes over her shoulder at Elena and Matt, and just managing to pick up her purse from the barstool. "Where are we going?" she asked when the cool night air hit them.

"I'm taking you home, love, remember?" Klaus informed her with a soft sigh, pulling her tighter into him when she almost twisted an ankle on the way to his car. "How drunk _are_ you right now?"

There was a pause as Caroline watched her feet, unable to multitask as she concentrated on walking. "What time is it?"

"Almost 11pm," he told her after glancing at the town clocktower.

"Then I'm _very_ drunk," she giggled, making him chuckle. He had never had the pleasure of experiencing Caroling in a drunken stupor before and he had to admit, it was very sweet. Her carefree attitude was multiplied and her almost-human actions were somewhat adorable. He had pulled out his car keys when she suddenly gasped and pulled them both to a stop. "_Shhh! _Klaus! My mom can't know."

"I'm sure she knows you drink, seeing as its not the worst thing you do," he said in amusement, opening the passenger door for her and waiting for her to get in.

A sly grin worked its way onto her face as she turn to face him, back to the car. "That would be _you_," she whispered naughtily before slipping into her seat.

Surprise coloring his face, it took a moment to make sure that all of Caroline was inside the car before he shut the door, replying as he did, "My, my. Who would have known a drunk Caroline had a dirty mind?"

"Don't tell anyone. I'm Miss Mystic'alls," she said in a stage whisper, leaning over to him when he climbed into the driver's seat. A frown tugged at her lips as she sat back and pondered what she had said. "That's not easy to say drunk."

"I imagine not," he chuckled, glancing over at her once they were on the road to see her mouthing the words 'Miss Mystic Falls' to herself over and over. Deciding to leave her to herself, he curled a hand over her bare knee and drove the short journey to her place. Parking on the curb, he killed the engine and removed his hand, lifting an eyebrow when she failed to react. "We're here, Caroline. Lets get you inside."

She started at his words, head snapping up in attention and looking at the house in worry. "But my _mom_-"

"-isn't home," he cut her off, pointing out the clear driveway and the dark house. "You'll be tucked up in bed and asleep by the time she finishes work."

"Ok. Ok, good plan, Batman," Caroline replied steadily, a sunny smile back on her face when he helped her out of the car. "You're not Batman."

Klaus had to laugh at the utmost sincerity in her voice, unable to keep himself from dropping a kiss to her forehead as he led her into the house. "I am not, no, love," he agreed, making it up to her bedroom with little incident or conversation.

Shutting the door behind him (he had made sure to do the same to the front door too, unlike his own home), he walked up to where Caroline stood in the middle of the room. She had thrown her purse onto the bed and was struggling to take off her earrings whilst standing still.

Sighing lightly, he swept her hair over her shoulder and brushed her hands away with his own to help her out. Her necklace followed her earrings, depositing them both onto her vanity table, before stepping behind her to unzip her dress.

"Klaus, are you trying to take advantage of my drunken state?" Caroline suddenly asked, her voice loud and rough in the dead quiet of the night, when he started to gather the hem of her dress.

Freezing, he shook his head and looked at her with wide eyes. "No-" he began, hoping she truly wouldn't think so low of him.

Caroline raised her arms without him asking her, cutting him off with an answer of her own. He had a feeling that she hadn't heard him in the first place. "Because that would totally be ok with me. I could really, really use some really, _really_ great sex right now," she told him passionately as he slipped her dress off over her head and laid it over the back of her chair.

Momentarily dumbstruck by her admission, he pressed his lips to hers firmly and pulled back only when he felt her hands start to claw at his shirt and her tongue try to gain entrance into his mouth. Holding onto one of her hands, he turned down the covers on her bed and made her sit. He had to fight every instinct inside of him to do the right thing as he knelt in front of her to take off her shoes for her. She was more skin than clothes (her blue bra and panties were a lame excuse for underwear as it was) and he could sense her arousal in more than one way.

But he had waited for her for over a year, and he had courted her like a gentlemen. There weren't many parts of his life where he could say he played by the rules, but in his relationship with Caroline, he did everything by the book. And unfortunately for him, that included not giving in to her wishes whilst she was drunk.

"When do you ever not need 'really, _really_ great sex', hmm?" he murmured, placing her heels to the side so she wouldn't trip over them in the morning. A pout formed on her lips; eyes wide downcast in upset though he could see sleep overtaking it by the second. Gently, he urged her to lay her head down onto her pillow. "Let me get you into bed first and then we'll see."

She conceded reluctantly, shuffling back in her bed until she was halfway and Klaus stopped her in fear that she would end up shuffling all the way over to the other side. Her arm held back the covers as she peered up him through her lashes. "Will you stay?" she asked him softly, sleep thick in her words. Kicking off his own shoes, he slipped in next to her and wound an arm around her shoulders when she snuggled up to him with her head on his chest. "Give me five minutes. I'll be ready in five."

Burying his face into her hair and inhaling the fresh scent of coconut and _her_, he smiled when he heard her breathing even out not a minute later, indicating she was indeed asleep. "Anything you want, sweetheart."


	13. Are You Sure They Won't Find Out?

_**Caroline - "Are you sure they won't find out?"**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Klaus pushed her up against the wall, smooth marble cold against the skin her low back dress left bare. His kisses were bruising; mouth working frantically against hers with his tongue dipping in to taste hers whenever he felt the need for it. It took effort and thought to keep up with him and Caroline had neither. So she allowed him to carry on with his passionate ministrations, taking every breath from her mouth and replacing it with his own. The mere feeling of his soft lips against hers was mindblowing and she had an inkling that it was more due to the three weeks they had spent apart than his kisses.<p>

Winding her arms around his waist, she gripped at his dress shirt at the back under his tuxedo jacket, pulling him tighter into her so all she could feel was his heat at her front. It evened up the chill she got through her back.

One of his hands cradled the back of her head, fingers slipping under the strands of her updo and tugging ever-so-gently whenever he wanted to change the angle. Caroline shuddered at the feel of his other hand on the small of her back, still covered by her maroon silk dress but thin enough to stimulate his touch on her skin.

Klaus nipped softly at her top lip with his human teeth, soothing it with a loving kiss and swipe of the tip of his tongue before breaking away. It still amazed her how her senses could focus solely on him during their heated make out sessions. Parted, the sounds of ball hosted in the main rooms of the house came back to her; classical music mixed with the gentle tones of voices lilted by European accents. The scent of food and champagne reached her nose next, followed by the sight of shadows passing at the end of the corridor they had snuck into when she opened her eyes.

"_Caroline_," Klaus murmured, hoarse but adoring as his blue eyes searched deep into hers. She could see the reflection of her own eyes in them, surrounded by want, lust and unconditional love.

Heat pooled in her stomach. There was nothing she wanted more than him. Their bedroom was only a few seconds walk away (if they walked at his hybrid speed) and towards the opposite side of the ball. They could be there without anyone knowing; total privacy with over two hundred guests in their home.

Part of her reminded her that they were the host of the summer ball, despite it being Elijah's idea and Klaus only turning up that afternoon. Rebekah and her had had their fun in organising the event, hiring the right people to decorate their Spanish villa and making sure the night would be one to remember. Even Kol hadn't complained. She guessed it was due to the guests they would be inviting - it had turned out that the younger Mikaelson brother was partial to the local ladies.

The other part of her, however, said '_screw it_'. Or rather, screw Klaus. Especially when he said her name like it was prayer, slipping from his lips and straight into her heart.

"We can't," she whispered, even as she tightened her hold on him and rested her forehead against his, nose brushing his softly. "Its our ball. We should be there."

"They haven't missed us yet," he replied, applying pressure to her back to press her hips against his. The dress pants did nothing to hide his arousal and she knew he could sense hers.

"Ok," was all she said before she found herself being whisked away and up the stairs, straight into their room which she had recently occupied by herself.

The door slammed close behind them and she gasped at both the sound and the way Klaus's lips found hers once again. Pulling back when he began to unzip her dress; her hands finding their way to his bowtie as his mouth trailed down her neck. His jacket hit the floor with his tie and belt, and Caroline was lifted up and out of the dress that pooled around her ankles, only to find herself on her back on their bed when he let her down.

"Are you sure they won't find out?" she panted, worriedly when he covered her body with his.

"I'm sure," he told her before reclaiming her lips and chasing away her thoughts once again. Two hundred guests downstairs and all she could (would) focus on was him.


	14. I Hate You

_**Elena - "I hate you."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>"<em>Caroline?<em>" A distant but abrupt voice broke her out of the slow kiss she was sharing with her boyfriend. Freezing, she remained as she was with her back to the tree near the woods of Whitmore College, hands clasping tightly at the hybrid's top. "Oh, my god, _Klaus?_"

Klaus shifted to glance over at the other vampire, even as Caroline simply laid her head against the tree trunk to get her bearings straight once again. "Hello, Elena," he greeted, words light even though his tone was far from friendly.

His hands hadn't loosened their hold on her hips, keeping her pinned to the tree with both them and his body until she tapped him gently on the chest to make him move. Klaus gave her an unimpressed look before stepping back enough for Caroline to straighten up and turn to look at her friend, hands falling away from him even as one of his lingered on her.

"Elena-" she began, hoping to nip the conversation in the bud before it became a full fledged argument, but the brunette had other ideas.

"_Klaus_ is your secret boyfriend?" she cut her off in disbelief, shifting her eyes between them the two of them.

Furrowing her brow, Caroline gazed briefly at Klaus, who seemed less interested in the conversation and more bored than anything else. "I- I didn't know-"

"-that we knew you had a secret boyfriend? It wasn't really hard to figure out," Elena finished for her, softly but confidently. Caroline knew she had felt different since starting the relationship with Klaus; she was happier, free and at that stage where she was teetering at the edge of falling in love. She made a mental note to ask Elena, or any one of her friends, at a later date as to how they had figured it out. "I can't believe it, Care. _Klaus_?" she repeated, pointing at the man in question in disdain.

"You know, saying my name like that doesn't change anything. I'm still here and its still true," Klaus replied, finally giving the conversation some attention with a fake smile that faded into a sneer when he was met with silence.

Sighing, Caroline reached out to grab his arm and claim his attention to her. "Ok, um, Elena and I need to talk. Can I meet you later?" she told him, dressing her suggestion as a question to lighten the blow of sending him away. She didn't miss the way his eyes glared at the other vampire for a moment before meeting her eyes with a tender look; one that showed his reluctance to leave the alone together. Offering him a small smile, she nodded reassuringly. "Its fine; its just Elena."

"If you're sure," Klaus muttered before turning his back on Elena and making a show of cupping her face so he could bring his lips to hers. He kissed her deeply, allowing his tongue to penetrate her mouth and taste her fully before pulling away. Caroline rolled her eyes at his obvious actions but he merely smiled and walked off, passing Elena with a smirk, who simply shot back a dirty look and averted her eyes to the ground.

Crossing her arms, Caroline closed the gap between the two young vampires with a few steps. "So…"

"Has he compelled you?" Elena quickly asked, concern and worry written all over her features.

"No! What, you think the only reason I'd be with him is if he compelled me?" Caroline replied, more offended than upset at her assumptions of the morality of her new relationship.

"Honestly, yes," Elena told her, and Caroline couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Its Klaus, Caroline! What's going on with you?"

"Nothing! Maybe I just wanted to be with a guy who really likes me and puts me first," she informed her best friend, flinging an arm out to emphasise her passionate and true feelings about her words.

"And that's Klaus?" Elena asked sceptically.

"Turns out, yeah," Caroline confirmed with a nod before sighing and loosening her stance when she saw the pure confusion on her friend's face. "I really like him, too, and if you were my friend, you'd understand that."

A frown made its way onto Elena's features as she lifted her chin to level her with a glare. "Like you understood it when I chose to be with Damon?"

"That was different! You were sired and it was, like, _no time_ after you broke up with Stefan!" Caroline defended herself for what felt like the millionth time, having the same argument for her actions every time Elena brought the sore subject up.

"I guess it had nothing to do with the fact that you hated him, too," Elena prompted, causing Caroline to roll her eyes and nod fervently.

"Of course it did! But I accepted the two of you after you broke your sire bond," she reminded her before huffing and crossing her arms again to mutter, "Even if I am 'Team Stefan' all the way."

Elene blinked at her and let out a short, dry laugh. "I'll tell you now, Care; I'll never be 'Team Klaus'. After everything he has done, to us and to the town since he's arrived, how could you even _think_ about being with him?"

"You think this was an easy decision? That I just blinked and thought 'oh, he's cute, lets see what else he has'? I spent _two years_ fighting his affections, reminding myself how much you all hate him, _you_ especially. But you know what? I never thought about how much _I_ hated him towards the end! Because I didn't anymore," Caroline told her, not giving her friend a moment to cut in whilst she finally got her thoughts out and her feelings off her chest.

It had been a long few months where she had carried around the guilt of keeping her relationship a secret. She had wanted to enjoy her new relationship like everyone else got to, gushing over ever new 'first' with her friends, spending hours at a time trying on various clothes for a date with their input and have them waiting up for all the goss when she got back, but she had known that would never be possible being with Klaus. She also knew he was all but happy at being kept her dirty little secret (not that he would ever admit it).

"I can't just stop hating him because you don't, Caroline," Elena said gently, shaking her head and showing the sweet side of her that Caroline remembered from her childhood. "I can't accept this."

Sighing, Caroline kicked at the ground with one foot before resting the toes of her sandal against the muddy bark on the floor. "Ok."

"'Ok'? That's it?" Elena asked in pure surprised, not that Caroline could blame her as she shrugged.

"Yeah, Elena, that's it. What do you want me to say? That I'll go and break up with him because you can't accept it?" she asked wryly, voice rising slightly and holding her hands out at her sides. "Newsflash, Elena! This is _my_ life and _my _relationship. And yes, Klaus is my boyfriend, and yes, I kept it a secret, but can you really blame me? I'm finally in a relationship where I'm truly happy, and the last thing I wanted was for people like you to bring me down by _their_ feelings."

"I'm sorry if I'm bringing you down. I guess I never thought I'd have to double date with the man who killed my aunt!" Elena hissed back, careful not to spread such horrific truths among their peers if any were nearby. Thankfully, they couldn't see nor hear anyone, but they had spent the last few years living with the instincts to keep certain facts from being common knowledge.

Caroline smiled sardonically. "Don't worry, there will be no _double dating_. I never want to spend any excessive time with Damon after what he did to me anyway," she retorted, watching as a hint of sympathy and compassion passed over her friend's face at the reminder of what her own boyfriend had once been guilty of.

They fell into a moment of silence where they both refused to look at each other and instead glanced either at the greenery around them or the ground. "I hate him," Elena suddenly whispered again.

"Its a good thing you're not dating him then," Caroline replied tiredly, all the fight gone out of her. Was it really only midday on a Tuesday afternoon? She felt absolutely exhausted, though she guessed it was more emotional than physical.

"I can't even look at you right now. You're choosing him over us! Its not going to end well, Caroline. Hell, you might even end up dead! I hate him and right now, I ha-" Elena told her roughly, breaking herself off before she finished her own line of thought.

Raising her eyebrows, Caroline swept an arm in front of her to give her friend the floor. "No, go on, Elena. You haven't held back so far so why don't you just say it?" she prompted her, and like they both knew she would, Elena didn't back down.

"You're right, I haven't. You're my best friend, Caroline, but right now, this person in front of me, the person who thinks that being with the Original Hybrid is a good idea, I hate it. I hate you. I hate _this_ you," she confessed, breathing heavily at the end of it and they could both hear her quickened heartbeat.

Nodding once, Caroline turned to pick up where she had dropped her bag by one of the roots of the tree and hitched it onto her shoulder. "Fine, whatever. I never thought you'd base our friendship on who I date, but whatever. I'm not fighting with you over this. I've got class and I need to feed first so I'm going to head back to our room. I'll probably see you later," she told Elena confidently before walking past her to head back to the main part of the campus.

It wasn't a long before she was back in reality, walking through the thriving crowds of students and professors alike as they either took time for lunch, hurried to another class or found a space on the lush green grass to get some reading in. Pausing by the statue of the college founder, she dug out her phone and speed dialled Klaus.

"Hey, where are you?" she asked as soon as he picked up.

"The Art Department is holding an exhibition. I thought I'd check it out," he replied casually. The image of him strolling around and criticizing the works of the art students brought a small smile to her face.

"Anything Klaus Mikaelson worthy?" she teased.

"No, but nothing ever is," Klaus said with a hint of disdain, causing her to giggle at his arrogance. "How was your little chat with Elena?"

"Fine," she snapped before wincing to herself. His silence was enough to for her to tell he didn't believe her, so she sighed and added, "Not fine, but whatever. At least its out in the open now and I'll deal with it. No biggie."

"I'm sorry, love. If I had known the problems it would cause I-" Klaus began, his voice growing slightly louder to indicate that he had left the exhibition.

"You would have, what? Stopped trying to win my affections?" she asked in amusement, causing him to chuckle. "It was bound to happen and I knew what I was getting into, so don't worry."

"Very well. Though please let me know if there is anything I can I do. I am especially good at convincing people to see my point of view," he offered slyly, a dark tone underlying his words.

"Yeah, don't I know it?" Caroline muttered with an eyeroll. "Come find me? I need to go feed but don't fancy going back to my place."

"Give me a minute and I'll take you hunting," Klaus replied before abruptly hanging up as she assumed he went to find her.

Shaking her head, she stared at her phone as it _beeped_ with the dialtone and then slipped it back into her bag. "Good enough," she muttered to herself.


	15. I Never Really Loved You

_**Klaus - "I never really loved you."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Caroline was lounging in the sunroom of the plantation house, legs stretched out in front of her in the loveseat as she lazily read '<em>Wuthering Heights'<em> when Klaus returned from whatever he had been doing in the French Quarter.

A smile curved on her lips when she heard him paused momentarily at the door before making his way to where she was. It didn't take him more than half a minute to appear in the room, throwing her a glance but heading straight to the wet bar at the side without a word.

Frowning, she followed him with her eyes. The tension was easy to see in his rigid stance, using more power than was necessary as he fumbled around with pouring a glass of whiskey, downing it and then refilling it. His features were dark and but stoic when he finally looked up to catch her eyes.

"Perhaps its time for you to leave," he said nonchalantly, finishing his second glass and slowly pouring himself a third.

"What?" she asked in confusion, looking at him from over the back of the loveseat.

"I said leave, Caroline," Klaus sighed, rounding the bar to lean against the front of it. Taken aback by his request, she remained silent for a moment, giving him the time to carry on. "Pack your things and get the hell out of my house, and my city," he added calmly, pointing towards the main door with a finger.

"Ok, I don't know what's going on with you, but its not funny," Caroline replied with a furrowed brow as she tried to work him out, putting her book to the side and curling her feet under her so she could sit up straighter.

"I'm not being funny, love. I'm being quite serious. Pack your things and leave," he informed her strictly, sipping at his drink. "I've got things to deal with and I can't have you distracting me."

"'Distracting you'?" she asked incredulously. "What are you going on about? What's happening?"

"Look, sweetheart, lets be honest here. What did you expect would happen? We'd spend the rest of our eternal lives happily ever after like those childish movies you watch?" he chuckled dryly, finishing his drink and turning his back on her to refill his tumbler. "We had our fun - well, I most certainly did. But its time to move on, don't you think? Before this just gets boring."

His cold tone and sudden change in mood from the day before (when she had last seen him) was confusing to say the least. Standing up and stepping around to come up behind him, she cleared her throat to dislodge the pent up emotions that were suffocating her and remained as steady as she could as she asked, "So that's it? After a measly six years, you've decided you've had enough of me? What happened to being my last love and all that bull?"

"Who says you'll ever have a love after me, hmm?" Klaus chuckled again, the dark sound hitting her right in the heart and piercing it painfully. She crossed her arms across her chest, trying to reel in the pain and hold herself together as she tried to piece everything together; everything he said and did with everything he had ever done. It didn't make sense to her, even if there was a small part of her that finally came out and chastised her for ever believing to be someone's first choice. He pursed his lips when he turned back around to see her forlorn look. "Oh, Caroline. I am truly sorry if I led you to believe otherwise, but we were never meant to be anything more."

"I don't believe you," she shook her head, hold her chin up high and meeting his eyes. They were glazed over and a darker shade of blue that she had never seen before hiding the love and devotion she always sought in them before.

"Regardless of what you do or do not believe, its the truth," he shrugged and went lift his whiskey to his lips, but Caroline intercepted him.

Reaching out, she grabbed onto his wrist with one hand before taking the glass out with the other. Jerking, he hurriedly pulling his arm out of her grip like he had been burnt just as she slammed the tumbler down on the bar behind him, ignoring the alcohol that splashed over onto her fingers or the _crack_ that indicated she had used a bit too much force.

"No, its not! This is not the man who fought for me and my heart, the man who took me everywhere and anywhere I wanted to go!" she exclaimed, anger taking over her hurt. "The man who told me he loved everyday even before I could reciprocate."

Klaus paused for a moment and she thought she had gotten through to him, until he shrugged once again. "You know me, love, I enjoy the chase, the adventure. The rest were merely words," he waved off dismissively.

"Then say it," Caroline instructed, shaking her head before giving him an ultimatum. "Tell me you don't love me, that you never have, and I'll leave."

"If I had known it would be that easy, I would have done that first," he retorted dryly, crossing his own arms and standing up straight.

Arching an eyebrow, she scoffed, "Can you? 'Cause you still haven't!"

"I don't love you, Caroline. I never really loved you, either. It was purely lust and the craving of wanting something so beautiful and innocent," Klaus said with a harsh undertone but the words were soft and she could hear the slight hitch in his voice as he stopped to swallow, clearing his throat before slipping past her to the loveseat. "That's what you wanted to hear, correct? You have until tonight to pack up and leave."

Swallowing around the lump in her throat, Caroline spun on her heel and left the room, not allowing him to be the one who left her behind. She took carefully measured steps to reach their - _his _- bedroom before shutting the door and resting against it. The tears that pricked at her eyes refused to fall, and as she inhaled the scent of them (the mix of his spicy earthiness with her floral berries) that tended to linger in the room she resolved that she wouldn't mourn their relationship until it was truly over.

His words might have said one thing, but the way he had flinched at her touch, the memories of their years together and the blank look in his eyes as if he was protecting a secret told her otherwise. She wouldn't rest until she knew what it really was; she had all eternity after all.


	16. I Want You Naked In My Bed Now - C

_**Caroline - "I want you. Naked. In my bed. Now."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Glancing at the clock on her bathroom counter, Caroline grinned. It was almost 10pm; the time she had arranged with Klaus to come over and see her. Her mom had the night shift and it had been a few days since she had gotten any 'alone time' with her boyfriend. Between final year, coping in the supernatural hell that was Mystic Falls and him trying to train and wrangle in his hybrids, they were just constantly too busy to spend any more than an hour here or there together.<p>

She heard the front door open and the telltale sounds of a vampire's stealthy approach. Ruffling up her hair in the mirror, she frowned at her reflection and tugged gently at the waist of her peach lace babydoll to adjust the neckline and emphasise her cleavage. For once, she looked as sexy as she felt, and she would be lying if she said it had nothing to do with the way Klaus practically worshipped her.

There was a brief knock on her bedroom door, causing Caroline to giggle at his newly acquired manners. "Come in," she called out, hearing the door creak open. "You better be ready, honey, because I want you. Naked. In my bed. _Now._"

Swinging open the bathroom door, the seductive smile slipped off her face with a shriek when she caught sight of the intruder in her room.

"_Kol?!_" she exclaimed in horror, eyes wide and mouth gaping.

Kol turned to look at her with a wolfish grin, opening eyeing her from her bare feet to her mussed hair. "_Caroline…_" he drawled out slyly. "So how long do we have until my brother comes around? I can be quick, if that's your thing."

Growling deep in her throat, she grabbed her bathrobe off the back of her bathroom door and wrapped it tightly around her partially naked body. "What are you even doing here?!" she demanded, stomping over to flick on the lights and ruin the ambience she had tried to set for the night.

"Nik stole my iPod and '_accidentally'_ left it here. I came to retrieve it," he informed her as he walked around her room, trailing his fingers over her bedpost, desk and vanity until he reached her window. "Ah, bollocks. Seems like we're out of time."

Caroline exhaled heavily, doing her best to keep her temper in check rather than to snap the younger Mikaelson brother's neck and be done with him. Klaus would be inside in less than five seconds, and she was sure he would be more than happy to help her dispose of Kol's body.

On second thoughts, that was definitely _not_ how she wanted to spend her only night until who-knew-when with her boyfriend. Instead, she fixed a deadly glare at the Original in her room and headed over to her bed where she opened the bottom drawer of her bedside table and plucked out the shiny iPod she knew wasn't hers.

"Here," she said, hurling it at him with such a great force that if he hadn't caught it, it would have smashed through her bedroom window and out onto the front lawn. If she was lucky, it would have shattered, too. "Now, leave."

"But darling, the party's just getting started," he chuckled, pocketing his iPod and grinning when Klaus joined them. "Hello, brother."

Caroline had to hand it to Klaus; his reaction to seeing Kol in her bedroom that late at night was pretty tame. Shooting her a questioning look, she rolled her eyes and shook her head at him, letting him know that it was perfectly harmless.

"Why must you be everywhere I am today, Kol?" Klaus asked tiredly, holding the door to her bedroom open in an obvious gesture to usher his brother out. However, Kol ignored it and remained where he was.

"I am intrigued by your life, brother. I had to see what it was that got you dear Caroline," Kol retorted cheekily, his boyish grin in place. Klaus scowled at him irritatedly, causing him to hold up his hands in surrender. "Relax, Nik. I was only here to collect my iPod. Caroline, on the other hand, was the one who propositioned me. I have to tell you, you might want to rethink this whole '_relationship'_ thing."

Gasping, Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. "_Out!_" she shouted, pointing towards the open door. With one final teasing glance, he sped out of the room and house without another word.

Collapsing onto the bed, she let out a huff as she threw herself back against the pillows. The sound of her bedroom door closing broke the silence but she simply shut her eyes and relaxed into her comfy bed. This was definitely not what they were meant to be doing right then.

"You _propositioned_ him?" Klaus asked, curiously. Her eyes snapped open and she pushed herself up onto her elbows to quickly assure him of the truth, only to see the mirth clear on her features as his lips twitched with the beginning of a smirk.

"I thought he was you," she muttered in embarrassment, sitting up and crossing her legs in front of her.

"Right, right," he replied halfheartedly, tapping his mouth with his forefinger in a playful manner, pretending to be deep in thought. "And here I was thinking that using two brothers was the doppelganger curse."

Caroline aimed pillow at him, knowing he would catch it with his hybrid reactions before it even grazed him. "Shut up," she snapped, biting the inside of her cheek to keep herself from smiling at his (unfortunately funny) joke. "At least Kol got to see what I'm wearing under here."

All sense of amusement slipped off of Klaus' face. Realising that taunting him with his brother might not have been the best idea, she got up onto her knees and tugged gently at the knot of her robe. "Please tell me he didn't get to see for long, otherwise I might have to gouge his eyes out," he replied hoarsely as she let her robe fall open and let him see the hint of peach lace.

"Well, as tempting as never having to worry about Kol's wandering eye ever again is," Caroline began, shrugging off the bathrobe and letting it pool behind her and realising she made the right decision in choosing her attire for the night when Klaus' tongue darted out to wet his beautiful raspberry lips. "I assure you, this is _all_ for you."


	17. I'm Dying - Caroline

_**Caroline - "I'm dying."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Her sense of smell was the first thing that came to her when she woke up, filling her nose with the comforting mix of musky sandalwood, fresh earth and heady spices when she inhaled. <em>Klaus<em>. It was his unmistakable scent.

Next came her hearing. The familiar sounds of tire on asphalt vibrated through the car, and the sounds of passing cars told her they were on the highway. There were no other sounds in the car itself, but she could hear the gentle, habitual breathing of two people; a vampire and a hybrid.

The feel of leather under her cheek was smooth but sticky from laying on it for too long. Caroline tried not to move to remain on the warmed up part of the back seat where she had napped. Coiling her hands around the material that was covering her, an onslaught of that scent again told her that it was Klaus' jacket she was using as a blanket. It wasn't very long or warm, but she didn't need it for any reason except for security.

Opening her eyes, she saw the easily recognisable profile of the side of Stefan's face in the front passenger seat. The sun was low in the sky out of the window; she guessed it would be around dinner time soon enough.

But she couldn't taste anything. Her gums ached and there was that terrible blood lust causing a pounding in her head, but she could tell she had slept for a while considering the beautiful taste of blood had long faded from her last feed only a few hours earlier.

In the two seconds it took her to take account of her surroundings, her mind brought her up to speed with her current situation. She hadn't been kidnapped or hustled away, but rather it was for her own benefit. They were heading to New Orleans in a last ditch attempt to help cure her of her curse. Because, of course, only Caroline Forbes could be turned into an Augustine vampire during her first year (semester, even) whilst trying to help her best friend save her boyfriend from their evil clutches.

With no help from the Augustine scientists (it didn't help that most were now dead thanks to a certain hybrid boyfriend of hers), and no help from the witches they knew (it didn't help that Bonnie was no longer a powerful Bennett witch), the resolving conclusion had been to travel to the supernatural capital of the world which said boyfriend currently ruled.

"Klaus?" Caroline murmured with a hint of panic, starting slightly when a hand rested on her bent knee.

"I'm here, love," his voice assured her softly. Working her hand around his jacket, she clutched onto his hand to ground herself.

Stefan turned in his seat to look at her, offering her a warm smile when she caught his eye and began to sit up. "How are you feeling?"

"Rested," she replied, unsure now else to answer. She was hungry with two vampires (one and half, technically) sitting in front of her. Her self-control was the one thing that allowed them to still be alive and her to not be unconscious with vervain pulsing through her.

"Do you need to feed?" Stefan asked. Pausing, she glanced down before shuffling forwards to lean against the driver's seat and pressing her temple against the side of the headrest. She met Klaus' eyes through the rearview mirror, reiterating the question silently through his gaze. Offering him a small smile, she shook her head and she laid their joined hands, fingers entwined, on his shoulder.

"No, I'll be alright for a little while," she said, putting on a confident tone which she knew had failed when both of the men looked at her skeptically.

"Caroline, if you need to feed, we can stop," Klaus told her, squeezing her fingers gently.

She shook her head gently. "I know, but I'm fine. Lets just keep going. How far are we?" she asked, changing the subject.

"About another 7 hours, love," Klaus informed her, making her sigh deeply. The total journey was 14 hours; 10 with Klaus' driving, which meant they weren't even halfway yet.

"Oh. I was hoping I slept a little bit more," she said, slightly crestfallen, dipping her chin onto the seat and inadvertently meeting Klaus' shoulder with her lips. She was sure she had knocked out pretty much as soon as they had zoomed out of the Whitmore College's visitor's parking lot.

"How about we stop off at the next diner we see? I could do with some real food and a stretch of the legs," Stefan suggested, his tone cheery and light which she knew was for her benefit as her best friend often did. "Not to mention some actual conversation wouldn't hurt to keep me from going entirely crazy."

Caroline let out a giggle at his remark, especially as she felt Klaus react to his snipe. Letting go of her hand, he pointed a finger at Stefan indignantly. "You chose to come along, mate, and I did attempt to start a conversation," he reminded him haughtily.

"About my Ripper days. Not something I wanted to talk about, funnily enough," Stefan replied dryly, causing Caroline to sit straighter and gasp, smacking Klaus on the arm lightly with the hand he had freed.

"_Klaus!_" she chastised, though amusement ran deep in her tone.

"Its our common ground, sweetheart. What else could we talk about?" Klaus defended himself, a smirk pulling at his lips that only made Stefan roll his eyes and her glare at him before ducking her head once again into his shoulder.

The pull of his scent was as strong as the blood she could hear (feel) pump under his skin just under her lips. His blood was more potent and kept her hunger at bay longer than any other vampire's would. They remained in the quiet for a short moment before she realised that they must have been trying to gauge her actions and whether she would simply sink her fangs into his beautiful neck right there and then.

"Shall I pull over, my love?" he said softly and Caroline was sure she only heard it due to her supernatural hearing. Inhaling him in once more, she pulled back to put some distance between them before even she lost all control.

"No. No, its fine. You probably haven't even fed since last time," she brushed off, knowing that though there were blood bags in the boot, she doubted Klaus would have stopped for a snack since she had fed from him in her dorm room minutes before embarking on their little road trip. "I'm just going to try and sleep again." Picking up his jacket again, she folded it into a makeshift pillow to place it onto the back seat behind Stefan before laying down so this time it was Klaus she would see.

The next thing she knew was that she was being gently shook awake. It amazed her that she had managed to fall asleep in the first place considering how much she had slept within the past 12 hours as it was. But she knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth, and any time she was sleeping, she wasn't craving vampire blood which made her less of a monster.

"Caroline, we're here," Stefan's voice broke into her consciousness. His hand was on her leg, keeping a safe distance in case she lashed out in fear, such as the way her fangs erupted without any thoughts almost immediately at the sound of his voice.

He backed away gently, still keeping eye contact with her but out of the car. Sighing, Caroline murmured an apology as she forced her vampire face to disappear before taking the hand he offered to help her out of the car.

"Where is 'here'?" she asked in confusion, looking around the half empty parking lot. There was a decent sized diner in front of them, and her vampire eyesight allowed her to see through the night darkness at the trees that surrounded them. A cool breeze swept over her pleasantly with the smell of greasy food lingering permanently in the air.

"Somewhere near Atlanta," Stefan informed her, letting her know that she must have slept for an hour or so this time. Nodding, she glanced around the parking lot once again before frowning.

"Where's Klaus?" she asked when she failed to spot or sense him nearby.

"Feeding," he told her matter-of-factly, causing her to glance back to the trunk of the car. It was closed with no-one next to it. "Not from the bags," he added, realisation hitting her instantly.

"Right," she muttered, folding her arms and looking down at the loose gravel as they fell in silence. She could tell that Stefan had fed before he woke her up, and the new blood that pulsed through his body was calling at her. It was time for a feed but she couldn't do that to her best friend, no matter how reassuring he was about how it was alright. The sound of carefully placed footsteps made her look up, offering a genuine smile when Klaus joined them. "Hey."

Klaus smiled back at her, subtly wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb. "Hello, Caroline. And yes, he is still alive, don't worry," he teased the both of them with his boyish smirk that only made her shake her head and Stefan roll his eyes.

"I'm going to go in and order us some dinner," Stefan dismissed himself before turning to her. "Burger with extra fries?"

Nodding, Caroline added, "And a chocolate milkshake, please." Stefan chuckled and headed towards the diner, leaving her to turn towards Klaus.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked her softly, brushing back her hair from her face. It went to show just how badly this curse was messing with her head when she hadn't even given a second's thought to her hair until that moment.

Laughing wryly, she crossed her arms in front of her and stared off into the distance for a second. "Like I'm dying," she said, arching a brow and smiling half-heartedly at him.

"That's not funny, love," Klaus sighed, lips pursed and twisting into an unimpressed expression as he leaned against the car.

"Sorry. Thought I'd lighten the mood, but I guess the '_Big Bad Hybrid'_ doesn't do humor, right?" Caroline teased with a faux smoldering and dark look in her imitation of him, coming to stand in front of him.

"That's the 'Big Bad _Original_ Hybrid' actually, and yes, I do, when its funny," he told her with a huff, lifting his chin to gaze down at her and making her laugh airily. Caroline bit back a moan when she caught sight of his carotid artery as he arched his neck up, no longer hidden under the collar of the jacket she had borrowed from him. The new blood he had just consumed called her and it was getting harder and harder to keep her fangs from breaking through her sore gums. Swallowing thickly, she evened her breathing and closed her eyes just as she felts Klaus reach out for her, obviously having noticed her shift in mood. "Come here."

Pressing up against his warm body, she felt his arms go around her to hold her tightly with a hand on her back and another running soothingly through her hair. Burying her face into his chest, she curled her hands into his top and did everything she could to simply keep from losing her composure in the middle of a random parking lot on the side of the highway. But she couldn't fight the tears that stung the back of her eyelids or the hitch in her breathing as she realised that trying to keep herself together took up far more energy than she currently had.

"It hurts so much, Klaus. All I can think about is feeding and then my gums hurt, my teeth ache, every nerve in my body is on edge until I get a fix and then it just starts again after 30 minutes. I want it to stop. Make it stop, _please,_" she pleaded, feeling her warm tears leak through her closed eyes and dampening Klaus' shirt.

She felt him take a shuddering breath before gently removing his arms from around her and shifting to take her face in his hands. He gently brushed away her tears with his thumbs, making her smile at his tender motions as he tilted up her head to look deep into her eyes.

"I promise you, I will find you a cure. Whether its in New Orleans or I have to travel to the ends of the Earth. I will even go to the Other Side and track down my own mother if I have to, but I _will_ make it stop," Klaus vowed, and she believed every word he said without a single ounce of doubt. He pressed his lips to hers before she could reply and then threaded a hand through her hair to pull her face to his neck. "Now feed. You must be going out of your mind."

Exhaling in relief, Caroline nodded and allowed her the privilege to sink her fangs straight into his neck without a second thought. Dragging a hand across his jaw on the other side, she dug her fingers into his curls and pulled softly to tilt his head away and give her more space to work with. His blood was smooth and warm, heavy with a tang of sweetness. It was the best thing she had tasted, and if she could, it would be the only thing she would drink. The Gods might have had their nectar, but she had Klaus and that was all she needed.

He tugged her away carefully after she had had her fill and was feeding just for the thrill. Without a word, she pulled away to watch his skin knit back together right in front of her eyes. Dropping a kiss to the new skin, she licked up any droplets and the smear of blood she has missed before laying her head back down onto his shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered, wrapping her other arm around his waist to pin him to her.

"Of course," was all Klaus said in reply, as if it was her right to have his blood, as if it wasn't the most precious life force in the supernatural community.

Nuzzling into him, she inhaled him in once again and chose to push back the thoughts about Stefan waiting for them in the diner only feet away and the rest of the journey they needed to complete before even getting started on their mission. "Lets just stay here for a moment. I just need to stand and hug you before the blood lust attacks again, and all you are is a glorified blood bag to me," Caroline told him, and like she expected, he rested his head upon hers silently to allow them the little stolen moment in the midst of her horror story.


	18. Promises Unkept

_**This was a request for a fic where Klaus goes against his promise to stay away and watches over Caroline silently until he realises she is unhappy.**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>It took Klaus a while before he realised that his happiness lied with Caroline.<p>

He had captured New Orleans and was now officially King of the French Quarter. The city was his, just like it was meant to be. Even better was the fact that their family were working in tandem for the first time in centuries. Peace kept the city quiet, with each fraction finally getting along with the other thanks to promises of a truce.

Yet, there was still something missing every time he took in the city and felt the hollowness inside his pride. True happiness never came, and whatever happiness he did feel only lasted for the fleeting moment he was submerged in whatever it was that made him feel that way.

Sitting in the library, he twirled his scotch around in his glass as he pondered over what he could possibly be missing in his life. He had broken his curse, he had sired his own hybrids, he had his family with him in New Orleans and he had the city under his rule.

And then it hit him. The last time he could remember truly being happy was the day he had gone to Mystic Falls to gloat at Katherine Pierce's deathbed but instead had spent fabulous, passionate and wild hours in the woods with the one and only Caroline Forbes. Even the memory evoked feelings deep down inside of him that he had tried to bury to keep himself sane. Lust, joy, content, (love).

Shaking his head, Klaus downed the rest of his drink and pulled out his phone to get a pilot to ready their plane. It had been almost three years to the day he had last stepped foot in Mystic Falls, all due to a promise to a mesmerising baby vampire. Luckily for him, he believed certain promises were made to be broken, and this was one of them.

Of course, being the man that he was, he had a few of his most loyal and trusted vampires (and a couple hybrids) watch over Mystic Falls and Caroline in particular. They infiltrated into the community easily, considering the high percentage of supernatural beings that lived in the town, with a few keeping up with Caroline at college. One had even managed to befriend her (Klaus had explicitly stated that should they ever do so, they were to never show any recognition towards him or his family), which worked wonders for keeping track of her until she graduated. The vampire in question had lied that they were a student from Michigan, meaning, after graduation, Klaus had to pull him out.

The moment he got to Mystic Falls, he made sure not to leave behind any sign that he was there. Instantly sending the plane back, he rented a car and drove to the finest hotel he knew of outside of the town limits. After all, with a Sheriff for a mother, he was sure that one slip up would mean Caroline finding out about his presence well before he was ready to reveal himself.

He ventured into town that afternoon, keeping in the shadows and meeting with his lackeys to inform them to pull back until he said otherwise. Finding Caroline was easy; he simply looked up the current town event (the Harvest Festival) and lo and behold, there she was.

Klaus froze when he laid eyes on her once again. She was everything he could remember, but even his own memory hadn't done her justice. Her blonde locks flowed to the middle of her back, clearly having grown it out, and her features were as kind and beautiful as the last time he had seen her. Her light, bubbly voice reached him easily; a giggle punctuating her sentence as she hunched down to speak to a young child. It was the first time he realised just how great of a mother Caroline would have made if they weren't all cursed with immortality.

An unintended smile pulled at his lips when he caught sight of hers as she stood back up. But then hers slipped into a confused frown as she looked up, straight towards was he was hidden between the buildings and foliage of fall. Klaus held his breath without realising it. Though he knew she wouldn't be able to see him, something told him that she could _sense_ him, and that ran a thrill through him.

Caroline sighed when she failed to spot anything, and in that split second before she had to turn back and address another member of the community with her winning Miss Mystic Falls smile, he saw something that wasn't ever meant to her; loneliness.

Klaus fought with himself to make himself known, and just as he had gotten the courage to do so, he heard the familiar tones of one Stefan Salvatore. Seeing Caroline embrace him with a gentle smile, he let them be for the afternoon.

He would never admit to the jealousy that built up in him when he spotted her leaving her house later that evening to go on a date with a human. Sure, Klaus had to admit that had Caroline still been human herself, he might have been the perfect guy for her. But she wasn't, and the only perfect guy for her now was himself.

Deciding not to torture himself with what may happen, Klaus went to feed in the woods near the Salvatore Boarding house late at night, reveling in the fact that he could be so near without them having a single clue. It was how he was able to accidentally overhear Elena on the phone to Caroline as she sat on the porch. Her date was over, and not much to his surprise, Caroline hadn't been overly impressed by him.

His joy was short lived however when the doppelganger reminded her best friend about another date she had the following day with another guy. With gritted teeth, he listened to Caroline describe the man she was seeing the next day (a vampire this time, handsome and only a few decades older than her) before turning away and going back to the hotel he was staying at. The short journey had given him enough time to cool down and realise his jealousy wasn't reason enough to have Caroline feel so unhappy. For the first time in his life, his happiness wasn't based on having something, but rather on someone else's happiness itself.

Decided, Klaus managed to track down the man who would have the privilege of taking the one and only Caroline Forbes out on a date that evening (if he was honest, he didn't see the 'handsome' she had described the night before) and compelled him to remember the flowers that he had sent and to take her to the finest restaurant the town had to offer. Of course, that had meant Klaus taking the liberty to actually send said flowers to Caroline and using his powers to make a reservation when the waiting list stretched up to two months.

Unlike the night before, he wasn't there when she left for her date, unable to trust himself to not reveal himself. But he was there when she returned, watching as she skipped up the porch steps like the teen she was and enter the house. Klaus was glad that he had missed out on any kiss there might have been, though the fact that there had been one (thanks to Caroline's phone call 30 minutes later) was enough to send rage through his veins.

Before he could turn away and let it out on some poor, unsuspecting trees or bunnies in the area, he heard her sigh once again. Like the sigh from the afternoon before, it was a forlorn one. One filled with longing and sadness, as if something just wouldn't fit right in her life. Klaus had to wonder how long it had been going on.

"It was a lovely surprise; I've never been to such a fancy restaurant before, and Elena, the flowers that were delivered before were _so_ gorgeous," Caroline gushed, sending a pulse of pride through him.

"But…?" Elena prompted her, and Klaus could hear her let out another sigh as the sounds of the bedsprings squeaked in his supernatural ears, indicating that she had just thrown herself back onto her pillows.

"_But_, it just seemed too extravagant for a first date, you know? That was definitely third or even fourth date stuff. Hell, even an anniversary. It just didn't seem like him, either," Caroline explained.

"I reckon you're overthinking it. He's a sweet guy; maybe that's just the way he planned on winning you over," Elena suggested helpfully and all of Klaus' homicidal tendencies towards the Petrova doppelgangers suddenly came rushing back.

"Perhaps. It was just a little too over-the-top, too. Like, what's next, diamonds? We both know how well I did with that last time," Caroline laughed dryly, making him smirk at her vague mention of the bracelet he had given her five years earlier.

There was a slight pause before Elena replied gently, "Caroline, you need to stop thinking about him- about Klaus. He's out of your life now, remember?"

"I don't think he'll ever be completely out of my life, Elena," Caroline confessed, so quietly that even his hybrid hearing only just managed to pick it up. She groaned before carrying on, but he could hear the tender tone to her words that made his undead heart stop. "This is stupid, but I always end up comparing these guys to him, you know? Like, what would Klaus have done on this date, what would he have insisted on drinking, on eating, what he would have said, and this was the closest to what I thought he would treat me. It was great, Elena. But it just didn't feel right."

"Because its not about the date, but about the man," Elena supplied for her.

"Yeah, I think I'm starting to get that," Caroline admitted in a murmur before inhaling deeply and putting on her sunny voice. "Listen, I'm going to turn in for the night now. Thanks for the post-date pep talk. Goodnight."

Klaus heard the dial tone only seconds after Elena bid her goodnight too before hearing the shuffling of sheets that told him she was climbing into bed. Without a second thought, he took out his phone and opened up a new message to text her. Hearing that she had been thinking about him almost as much as he had had renewed his beliefs in courting her. When he had left her on her graduation day, he had vowed to be her last and for her to come to him. But after his promise to stay away, he feared that Caroline might simply need that little nudge; a simple sign to show that he was still there if she wanted to take him up on his offer.

Briefly wondering whether she might have changed her number in the three years since he had last contacted her, Klaus sent the message anyway. It was short and simple; a greeting followed by the polite question of how she was.

He stood leaning against the tree with his phone in his hand, wondering whether this was what the modern teenager felt like these days. He didn't like it, that was for sure. Klaus Mikaelson did not wait for others, but this was only one of many rules he broke for Caroline.

The vibration of his phone threw him off, and the sight of her name on his scene sent his heart racing as his stomach dropped. Clearing his throat, he gathered himself and opened the message.

_Hey long time no chat. I'm good thanks. U? Hows NOLA?_

Klaus had to chuckle at her typical reply; always insisting she was fine. Typing out his reply, he accepted the fact he wouldn't leave his place from the outside her house until she stopped replying, and wouldn't be leaving Mystic Falls again without her by his side.

_I'm great, thank you, love. Actually, about New Orleans. Funny story..._


	19. I Want You Naked In My Bed Now - K

**_Klaus- "I want you. Naked. In my bed. Now."_**

Requested by anon.

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><p>Caroline clinked her shot glass against Rebekah's before licking the salt off her hand and downing the tequila in one go. She suckled on the lime wedge around a giggle as Rebekah did the same. It was the fifth shot they had done in the last five minutes; 12th overall that night. The two blondes were taking the town by a storm; bar hopping down Bourbon Street and the side roads alike.<p>

Dressed to kill in a shimmering silver dress with matching heels, Caroline peered around the club they were now in. It was the last stop on their adventure as guided by the Mikaelson sister.

Now that she was in a committed relationship with Klaus, Caroline made it a point to visit New Orleans every now and again when she could fit it in around college. The rest of the time, he would try to visit her. But being in the Big Easy was always fun, and not only because of the time she got to spend with Klaus.

Her and Rebekah had some sort of a steady friendship which she assumed stemmed from the fact that the latter didn't have any sort of true friends. She wanted to enjoy life as a teenager and be free of worries, and Caroline knew exactly how to do that. So they had a set routine every time she would visit. A day would be dedicated to pampering and shopping, and a night to drinking and dancing. No boys allowed.

Accepting the shot of sambuca that was pushed into her hand by Rebekah, Caroline finished it only a second after watching her companion do so. It was a good thing vampires had a fast metabolism and recovery time otherwise she would be awfully hungover the next day.

Suddenly, the beat of the music changed and Caroline squealed, grabbing onto Rebekah's arm and dragging her onto the dancefloor without listening to a second of her protests. "I _love_ this song!" she exclaimed as they found themselves in the middle of the crowds.

"You love _every_ song," Rebekah huffed, but the smile on her face and the amused tone told her that she was just teasing.

Rolling her eyes, Caroline chose not to reply but danced to the electropop tune that was pumping through the speakers of the club. Having long conquered the ability of dancing in heels, they kept going as the song morphed into the next, and then the next and then the next.

Caroline sweetly shook off any men who tried to dance with her with a small apologetic smile and shake of the head if they missed her signals. One guy even tried to reach for her, his hand hovering over her waist for only a second before she gripped his wrist and pressed tightly. It was all the warning he needed.

Rebekah, on the other hand, indulged in any man or woman she deemed hot enough for her to dance with. It took only two songs before Caroline saw her begin to stray away.

The feeling of eyes burning into the back of her neck, making the hairs on her arms stand up and her heartbeat race that little bit faster were all the signs Caroline needed to know their little girls' night out had been crashed. Tilting her head up, she scanned across the crowds until she got to the bar where she spotted him.

Tall, blond and mysterious, Klaus was dressed in his jeans and a grey henley whilst sipping slowly on what she could only assume was whiskey. His blue eyes met hers and she grinned seductively, licking her lips as she continued to dance, this time for him. Even from the distance, she could tell his eyes were darkening with lust, his jaw tightening with want and his features hardening as he struggled to keep control of himself in public.

Closing her eyes, Caroline spun around and swayed slowly to the beat. Though she kind of expected it, a gasp still left her throat as an arm wound around her waist and she was sped out of the club and into the back alley. Pushed up against the cool bricks, she only just managed to catch a glimpse of him before his lips were on hers.

Moaning as Klaus' tongue danced with hers, she threaded her fingers through his hair, disheveling any style the curls might have been in. He held her in a possessive grip, arms around her waist with a hand on the small of her back and the other stroking the bare skin of her upper spine.

"_Klaus,"_ she groaned, breaking away. He dragged his kisses across her jaw and down her neck before nipping at the conjuncture of her shoulder with blunt teeth.

"I want you," he muttered against her skin, pulling her flush against her body to make her gasp at his very obvious arousal. Looking at her in the eye, Caroline couldn't help but admire the hints of cobalt in the blue of his eyes. It only came out when he was feeling amorous, and that was enough to send her hormones racing. "Naked. In my bed. _Now_."

Heat pooled in her stomach at the thought of what the night had in store for her. With a nod, she tightened her hold on him as he used his hybrid speed to get them home in next to no time. All thoughts about how he had crashed their night out (and how they had left Rebekah behind) were at the back for her mind as they stripped each other of their clothes and he laid her down on the smooth, cotton sheets.

She would make him pay for it tomorrow. For tonight, they would enjoy each other.


	20. You Love Me, Caroline Admit It

**_Klaus - "You love me Caroline. Admit it. I dare you"_**

Requested by anon.

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><p>"<em>Klaus?<em>" Caroline exclaimed in confusion when he appeared in front of her, dressed up to the nines in (what she assumed was) a well tailored, Italian suit. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, sweetheart. Its nice to see you, too," he greeted her, grin breaking out as he unashamedly took her in. She smiled smugly at his heated gaze, relieved that the green knee length dress with pearl embroidery around the bodice and thin straps she had chosen was a hit with her biggest admirer. "I thought I'd come and see all your hard work."

Klaus pointedly gazed around the country house which was done up for the gala that Caroline had been hired to plan by a local politician. It was her current adventure in careers, and this was the one she felt the most comfortable doing. Decor, colour schemes and organising the entertainment was all the excitement she needed in her job, and with her natural knack of leading (ordering) people and bringing to life her client's wishes meant she had was well in her element.

"You- you didn't say you were coming," she replied, clearing her throat at his clear admiration of her work. They kept in touch as much as they could, but with him down in Louisiana, it was almost impossible to keep it constant.

"Would I have enjoyed a much brighter reception if I had?" he asked teasingly, raising his eyebrows in amusement. It was enough for her to gather herself and put on the cool exterior she usually did to deflect his advances.

"I would have made sure to lay down some ground rules for you first, actually," she scoffed, eyeing the two hundred and fifty humans that were gathered at the gala.

"You wound me, Caroline," Klaus sighed dramatically, laying a hand over his heart to emphasise his point. She smiled back sarcastically. "Let me buy you a drink," he said, gesturing to the bar in the small alcove off the ball room.

"Its an open bar," she informed him pointedly, causing him to chuckle.

"Then allow me to get you a drink," he insisted, holding out an arm for her as he use to do. Hesitating for a moment, she swapped the purse in her hands from one to the other so she could take his elbow with her free one.

"Lead the way," she told him. The look of relief and a hint of pride on his face wasn't hard to miss, even if he did cover it up within a second. Caroline smiled to herself at his reaction, feeling that all familiar flurry of butterflies start to flutter in her stomach once again.

"Where are your friends?" Klaus questioned as they made their way over.

"This is a private event, Klaus. I'm just the planner and organiser. I don't get to put together the guest list," she explained to him.

"Yet you invited me," Klaus argued, a hint of smugness clear in his voice at the fact that he was chosen to be there over her friends. She had been invited to come only to make sure everything went smoothly, and of course, the host had been gracious enough to allow her a plus one.

"Only because you badgered me about all the details to the point where inviting you was easier than explaining it all," Caroline retorted, though in all honesty, she had only thought about coming by herself otherwise.

"If you say so," he dismissed half-heartedly, as if he didn't believe her either. Approaching the bar, he caught the attention of one of the barkeeps easily and ordered them their drinks without a question. "Two glasses of champagne."

Caroline huffed and dropped his arm, though she knew she shouldn't really be surprised. "Seriously?"

"Its our thing," he reiterated as he had done so many times over the years whenever they shared the drink. The barkeep served them quickly and Klaus toasted to her hard work with his flute before sipping it tentatively. "I'm impressed by your taste, love, This is some smooth champagne. Almost as if you planned on us drinking it ourselves."

Laughing openly at his at his allusion (and compliment), she drank her own glass to realise how right he was about the bubbly drink. "Keep your compliments for when they're needed, Romeo. I didn't get to choose the drinks. I had a budget and this is what fitted," she explained to him, though his words stirred up some delight at the fact that he approved on her choices. Shaking away the thoughts about his gratification making her evening better, she turned to face the gardens on the other side of the open French doors. "C'mon, lets go outside. We're not needed in here."

Klaus nodded before turning back to the bar and making a request to the barkeep. "Can we have a bottle, please?" he asked politely. Caroline openly stared at him in a mix of concern and surprise, which he saw immediately. "What?"

"Did you just say 'please'?" she asked in disbelief.

"Indeed, I did. And if you stay around, you'll see me say 'thank you' too," he teased her, making her scoffed at his sass. An unopened bottle was placed in front of them, and true to his words, he inclined his head in appreciation before adding, "Thank you, mate."

"Wow, who are you and what have you done to the Klaus Mikaelson I know and hate?" Caroline laughed out, taking hold of his arm when he offered it to her once again and led them both out into the cool evening.

"'_Hate_'? Are we still holding onto that delirium?" he asked, spitting out the word with disgust.

"Yes, yes _we_ are," she replied seriously, silently guiding him towards the stone benches at the far end of the gardens with a gentle tug on his elbow.

Klaus shook his head at her, staring at the ground for a moment though she could clearly see the easy smile that was spread across his face. "You love me, Caroline. Admit it," he said simply before glancing over at her with piercing but tender eyes. "I dare you."

"Ha ha!" Caroline brushed off dryly, bumping her shoulder into his to play it off as a joke though she knew deep down (and perhaps somewhere not even that deep down) how sincere his question to her was. "No! I won't admit _that!_"

"Ah, so you acknowledge that there _is_ something to admit," he replied instead, joy lighting up his features akin to a child receiving all they asked for on Christmas morning. The fact that _she_ could elicit such a response from the Original Hybrid made her heart stop and stomach lurch. She had always known his feelings for her, but she had never truly realised how much he was waiting for her to feel the same.

"That- that is not what I said," she quickly rectified, letting go of his arm to face him before carrying on when he opened his mouth to argue. "Or what I _didn't_ say! Shut up and pour me more champagne."

Chuckling, he led her to the bench only a couple of feet away of them with a hand on her back. "With _pleasure_, sweetheart," he whispered sensually into her ear just before she took a seat.

Watching him sit down next to her, she remained quiet and tried not to compare the moment to the one they had shared only a few years previously at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. The champagne opened with a _pop_ and Klaus skillfully refilled their glasses before holding hers back out to her. Their fingers brushed lightly when she accepted it; warm tingles spreading from her tips to her arms and then throughout her body. Caroline didn't have to look at him to know he would feel the same.

"Fine, I'll admit that I don't _hate_ you. Much," she said carefully, trying to play it down. But when she caught sight of his bashful smile (and it truly was a sight to be seen), she couldn't help but to rectify her statement. "Ok, fine. At all. Friends, right?"

"Sure. '_Friends'_," Klaus replied, emphasising the word with a hint of wry. Clearing his throat, he looked up across the lawn as she did as he spoke. "I wish to take you out on a date, Caroline."

"Like, a real date?" Caroline asked, wide eyed and flushed.

Turning to look at her, he gently took her free hand from where it laid in the space between them and held it softly in one of his. "Yes, I believe so. Dinner, dessert, a romantic walk in the moonlight; that passes as a date these days, correct?" he informed her and she could hear the genuine nervousness underlying his words. It made her smile.

"It does. A pretty good date, to be honest," she admitted, curling her fingers around his so he could carefully stroke her knuckles with his thumb. The action was sweet and innocent, and it sent the butterflies into a whole new motion of dancing in her belly. "Actually, it sounds great."

"Is that a 'yes'?" Klaus asked hopefully, and Caroline couldn't help but tilt her head at his (almost) eager expression.

"Yes."


	21. I Don't Want To Be A Fricking Queen

**_Caroline - "I don't want to be a fricking queen, I want to be a khaleesi"_**

Requested by anon.

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><p>"Hey, Nik?" Klaus turned to his sister, the overly saccharine tone to her voice being warning enough that he wasn't going to like whatever she was going to say. "Your wife is eyeing those beads pretty intensely. Oh, look, there goes her jacket."<p>

His head whipped right around to where Caroline was stood on the other side of the street, and just as Rebekah had said, tugging off her light denim jacket in front of a random college kid. This wasn't her first Mardi Gras, but tradition would hold Caroline getting drunk and teasing boys for beads. Sure, she would never _actually_ give them the pleasure of seeing her breasts but it never stopped him from reining her in.

"_Leave," _Klaus growled, compelling the college kid as he sped over to Caroline's side. The boy nodded and walked away silently.

"My beads!" Caroline whined, pouting.

Smiling at her adorable drunkenness, he took her face into his hands. "My love, how about we enjoy the festivities from the vantage point just for us?" he suggested heavily, nodding towards their bedroom balcony of their French Quarter home that overlooked Bourbon Street.

"No, I'm having fun!" she stated, shaking off his hands and crossing her arms across her chest.

Lowering his voice, he leaned in and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her tightly against him. "We can have our own fun. I will even let you take of your clothes as much as you want," he murmured before pressing a soft kiss to the shell of her ear. He felt her shiver in response, and when he pulled away, a sly grin was forming on her face. Taking that as a sign that she agreed, he began to lead her away from the crowds and deeper into the dark sidewalks to make a quicker getaway.

"I want those beads!" Caroline suddenly called out, digging her heels (actual heels which Klaus still did not understand the need for on the one night they could all gurantee her to get drunk) to keep him from taking her any further.

Sighing, he looked around and saw a vendor not too far away selling a whole range of party beads. "I will get you some," he assured her.

"Its not the same," she muttered, fiddling with the zip of his jacket. If it were any other situation, her downcast eyes and despondent look would have him giving in instantly. But this was one situation he could not give in so easily.

Threading his hands through her hair, Klaus tilted her face up so he could meet her eyes. "Caroline, my beautiful, darling wife, you know I would give you anything you ask. However, if you did this, I would be forced to tear out the eyes of any and every single person who even got a glimpse of you. If I'm honest, I wouldn't stop there, and then what would become of your favourite festival and our city?" he told her, softly yet strictly. "You are a queen; you deserve to enjoy it as such."

Caroline seemed to melt at his tender words, pushing up to press her lips to his. He kept her steady as he felt her tongue probe his; alternating between massaging it or teasing it with the tip of hers. He allowed her to set the pace, admiring how meticulous she could be even in her state.

She fell back onto her heels and placed her hand on his chest as a frown began to appear, much to his confusion. "But I don't want to be a fricking queen. I want to be a khaleesi!" she announced suddenly, eyes bright with ferocity.

"What's a khaleesi?" Rebekah asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere with a look of disgust on her face after having to witness their public display of affection.

"I have no idea," Klaus replied dryly, arching an eyebrow at Caroline in hopes she would clear it up for them. But the only reply he got was a groan as she threw her head back in annoyance.

"Why am I related to people who don't watch good tv?" she moaned, shooting them both unimpressed looks.

"You chose us, bitch," Rebekah shot back with a half-hearted glare.

"_Rebekah!_ Watch your tongue," Klaus chastised, making her sister laugh as she fell into step next to them as they restarted their journey home.

"What? Its not like she'll remember it in the morning," Rebekah said in amusement, making him roll his eyes at her typical provoking attitude at Caroline. There were days when they could be best friends, act as the sisters they now were, or carry out plans as thick as thieves. But then there were the instances when the two blondes would clash or simply wind each other up out. He never understood it, but after so many years, he let it be unless it got too far.

"I will!" Caroline piped up, scowling at Rebekah before looking at her husband with an adoring gaze. "Klaus, will you get me some beads?"

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he nodded. "I'll get you as many as you want," he assured her, causing her to beam up at him.

"I don't know how many is correct for a khaleesi," she murmured even as Klaus walked her past the vendors and towards the entrance of their home. Caught up in her thoughts, he knew he could convince her to put off the beads for another day if he could just get her to their room without another comment. "Maybe, like, 20?"

"I'm sure we have at least 20 at home as it is, love," he informed her, reminding her about the collection she had gathered ever since coming to New Orleans and overtaking one of his drawers with them.

"Yeah! I'm going to wear them all for you," Caroline informed him as they entered the compound and took her straight towards the staircase. He nodded absentmindedly, not paying much attention until she tugged him down by the collar and whispering into his ear, "_Only_ them."

Rebekah shuddered in aversion, having clearly overheard her words thanks to her supernatural hearing. "Ew! Oh god, I'm going to go vomit now," she spat out, speeding out in front of them and towards her own room.

Klaus chuckled at the scene, hugging Caroline to him as he lowered his voice. "Sobered up, have you, sweetheart?" he asked, knowing she had only spoken those words for the entertainment of seeing his sister cringe.

"Yeah, like just after you told Bekah off," she giggled before shrieking when he decided that walking was taking far too long after the image she had put into his head and sped them away to their destination.


	22. Be Mine

_**Caroline - "Be mine."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Throwing open the doors to his bedroom, Klaus instantly froze when he saw Caroline perched on the end of his bed. She looked lost in her thoughts; staring at her red pump covered feet that were stretched out in front of her with her ankles crossed. If there was one thing that confused him more than her presence, it was the stuffed bear in her hands, resting lightly on her lap.<p>

Clearing his throat, he closed the doors behind him before leaning back against them. "Well, this is a most welcomed sight. Though perhaps less clothes would make it a bit more exciting," he suggested with an amorous glance.

"Hilarious," Caroline said sarcastically, tilting her head back so she could look up at him.

"I was deadly serious, actually," Klaus told her, tucking his hands into his jeans pockets to enjoy the sound of her light giggles. It was a pleasure he had recently learnt to revel in, especially when it was him making her laugh. Their friendship was going from strength to strength, and he could tell she felt the same by the way she had slowly allowed her guard down around him. "So, to what do I owe the honor?"

Perking up at his question, Caroline sat up straighter and held out the brown, fluffy teddy in her hands. "I bought you a gift. Here," she offered to him, letting it dangle from her fingers by its arm.

Furrowing his brows, Klaus stepped up to her and took the other arm tentatively between his thumb and forefinger, as if was something that might jump out and attack him. "A _toy_?"

"Its a Valentine's gift," she clarified, seeing his confusion. "Well, its meant to be a Valentine's gift. The one I wanted was out of stock. Guess that what happens when you go to buy it on the afternoon _of_ Valentine's Day, huh?" she added, babbling with a forced laugh to cover up her nervousness, which he only found adorable.

"You're giving me a Valentine's present?" he smiled warmly, shaking the teddy in his hand before clutching the other arm with his other hand to take a good look at it. It had a smile permanently stitched onto its face and was unbelievably soft (not that it mattered to him). "What was the one you wanted?"

"It was a bear holding a heart with writing on it. Oh god, this is not going how I planned it," Caroline suddenly announced, burying her face in his hands, causing him to look at her in worry.

Placing the bear next to her on the bed, he reached out to find out what the problem was and what he could do to fix it. There was something inside of him that always instantly reacted whenever she felt anything other than happy. He assumed it was what love felt like, but he couldn't be sure.

Placing a hand on her wrist, Caroline's head quickly shot up and shook him off with a soft smile. "No, don't. Let me do this," she said, imploring him to give her to change to speak.

"Of course," he nodded, perplexed but giving her the space to talk by taking a couple of steps back.

"Ok, so I was going to come here and give you the teddy. It would have had '_Be Mine'_ written on it. Then when you're appropriately shocked - like that - I would have told you that these last few months here in New Orleans have been amazing, that _you've _been amazing," she exclaimed, hands flailing in the air in time with her words, including pointing at him when his brows raised and mouth parted slightly at her admission. "You said you'd wait until I turned up on your doorstep, and I did but you still didn't expect anything."

"Well, that's me; a true gentlemen," Klaus beamed, giving her his most innocent looking smile.

"Yeah, anyways," she laughed at his statement, making him scoff indignantly at her dismissal. "I've booked us a restaurant for dinner tonight, and I've even researched the best places for after-dinner walks that shouldn't be too crowded. Would you go out with me?"

For the second time that day, he froze, dumbstruck. It was only when Caroline continued to stare at him, her beautiful smile starting to falter at his prolonged silence that he realised she might be taking his reaction the wrong way. "_You're_ asking _me_ on a date?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yup, I am," she confirmed, hurriedly, twisting to pick up the teddy bear and standing up with it facing him, arms held wide. "Actually, I was going to hold up the teddy and ask you to '_Be Mine'_. Cute, huh?"

"Indeed," Klaus agreed, eyes jumping from hers to the toy and then back to hers. "Are you still asking me? To be yours?"

"I am," she nodded, biting her bottom lip bashfully (though all he could see was the way her gorgeous pink lip shaped itself around her teeth and how he would love to be the cause of it).

Caressing her cheek softly with his knuckles, he smiled tenderly at her. "I would love to be yours, Caroline," he whispered, his undead heart jumping when she smiled back at him in what he guessed was a hint of relief. "As long as you are mine, also."

Caroline tilted her head slowly into his touch. "I always have been."


	23. I'm Not Speaking To You Anymore

_**Caroline - "I'm not speaking to you anymore."**_

Requested by anon.

* * *

><p>Caroline steadfastly ignored Klaus when he appeared in the doorway of her little den. It was a term that Kol had assigned the room which she used to study, carry out her event planning, or watch her marathon TV sessions on the huge screen Rebekah had bought for their occasional girl-bonding time. It had been a teasing remark but had stuck over the years to the point where even she referred to it as such.<p>

"You're mad," Klaus remarked after a moment, heaving a sigh when she took her time before replying.

"Nope, not mad. I'm just- I'm not speaking to you anymore. Because if I do, I might just say something I don't mean," she said in a clipped tone, shrugging to herself and keeping her attention fixated on tidying up the room rather than him.

"All of which equates to you being mad," he concluded smartly, making her glance up at him with a fiery look, not impressed at his attempts to undermine her anger.

"I just said I'm not mad!" she snapped in contrary, spinning around to put aside the two beanbags that decorated the space in front of the TV.

"Hmm, clearly," Klaus replied dryly, and she could see him push himself away from the doorjamb to enter the room from the corner of her eye. "How are the preparations for your friends going?"

"Hmph!" Caroline dismissed wordlessly, sticking to her silent treatment even as she shot a dirty glare in his direction until he got out of her way of shifting the coffee table closer to the couches.

"Right, not speaking to me," he muttered. She could feel his eyes burning into her back when she turned away from him. "I must say, when you kept going on about this weekend, I imagined a lot more decorations and junk food to match your excitement."

"Well, considering it's just Stefan and Enzo, I thought there would be no point in going all out. They'll be happy with alcohol and blood," she said through gritted teeth.

Though she was truly happy two of her closest friends were coming to visit, it was the fact that the majority of them would not that hurt her. Especially when Klaus had the power to change it by simply giving them all 48 hours in New Orleans, under their protection (for Bonnie's sake) and without his standing threat to kill two of them if he ever saw them again (Damon and Tyler, somewhat understandably).

Exhaling exasperatedly, Klaus threw himself onto the plush couch and tilted his head upwards. "Why must it be those two?" he growled.

Caroline paused in her stress cleaning to stare at him in disbelief. Throwing aside the feather duster she had retrieved with the intention of cleaning behind the mounted television, she began listing the reasons why her other friends would not be joining Stefan and Enzo, ticking each one off on her fingers.

"Because Elena won't come if Damon can't, Bonnie won't step foot into New Orleans after she brought down the other side because she's scared of what people might do so Jeremy won't either, and Matt didn't want to be the only human here. Not to mention you'd probably have Tyler strung and quartered the moment he crossed state lines," she informed him pointedly, matching his scowl at the mention of his first hybrid with her own sarcastic smile and throwing her hands up in the air. "But, hey, you like Stefan so at least you'll be happy!"

Sitting up straight, he shot her a steely look and shook his head gently. "Caroline, this is my city. I'm not about to extend pardons just because you feel homesick. You know you're more than welcome to visit Mystic Falls whenever you feel the need to."

"I don't want to visit Mystic Falls. I want them to come here and see what my life is like now. Enjoy time in my city with my friends," she explained to him before adding a humorless laugh that only made him fix his jaw. "Not that you would understand what its like to have friends."

There was a brief pause where she returned to her cleaning before Klaus cleared his throat and spoke up once again. "You're right, I wouldn't," he conceded wryly. "I am who I am, Caroline, and you have known that all along."

"Of course; the Big Bad Original Hybrid, doesn't care for anyone or anything if it doesn't make himself happy," she scoffed, paying far more attention than was necessary at her job at hand.

"You know that's not true, sweetheart. I care for things that make you happy, too," he said softly, and usually his sweet words would have had her melting and forgiving him (once again), but she was in no mood to be pliant or understandable this time. This time, she simply wanted him to be the one who understood and allowed her her occasional little quirks.

Facing him, she dropped her arms and asked him tiredly, "Yeah? Tell me, Klaus; do I look happy right now?" Waiting for his reply, Caroline sighed when he averted his gaze to the floor with what she assumed was guilt. It wasn't the response she was expecting, but his silence told her that he stuck by what he said and that hit her hard. "Exactly."


	24. Take Me Home

_**Caroline - "Take me home."**_

Requested by anon.

* * *

><p>Scanning the dancefloor of the Manhattan vampire nightclub, Klaus's brow furrowed in concern when he failed to spot Caroline. Glancing around from his vantage point on the upper level, he began to make his way to the stairs. He could easily see Kol with a group of girls around a booth in the middle of the club, and Rebekah at the bar with a tall brunette, but the blonde he was looking for was nowhere in sight.<p>

Taking a pause, he willed himself to calm down and focus his senses into finding her. It didn't take him long to pick up her undeniable floral but fresh scent, even among the crowds of the club.

Following it, Klaus found himself in a corridor that led him past the restrooms and towards the back room. The door was guarded but one flash on his golden eyes gave him access without even asking.

There were a few vampires inside, openly feeding on humans with others currently sleeping off their '_donation_' on the couches. It was a plush room with extravagant decorations offering privacy for those who wished (and could afford, it seemed) to feed away from the public crowds that the club itself offered. And just like the main club, it seemed like the humans here were more than willing to be fed off, too.

Not spotting Caroline among the crowds (thankfully, to some point), he grabbed the nearest person and compelled them into answering his questions about whether they had seen the beautiful, blonde haired vampire dressed in a white top and burgundy jeans. Immediately pointed towards the door at the back of the room, Klaus tossed him aside and made his way over.

On the other side was the cool air of the New York spring night in the form of a back alley. The smells of the city hit him at once, but the strongest was the pungent scent of freshly spilled blood. As he followed the line of discarded bodies (not fully drained but close enough), he found the source of the most familiar scent of all.

"_Caroline!_" Klaus exclaimed, speeding up to her side with all of his hybrid powers. She didn't pay him any attention as she continued to feed off the young woman until he gently began to pull her away by the waist. "Hey, hey._Sweetheart, st-_ Caroline, you need to stop."

"I can't," she gurgled around the blood, looking up only to breathe and swallow. It gave him enough time to whirl them around and place himself in between her and her victim. Taking Caroline's face in his hands, he could clearly see the glaze of tears in her eyes and anxiety covering her vampire features. Blood was smeared across her mouth, dribbling down her chin and there were even streaks of it along her cheeks and on her nose. She was breathing hard and trembling from head to toe. "I can't stop, Klaus!"

"Yes, you can. This isn't you," he told her before peering over his shoulder to see what kind of damage control he needed to do with the human. The fact that she didn't seem too bothered about the fact she was just fed on by a vampire told him she was one of the volunteer humans that frequented the club for the thrill of it.

"Yes, _it is! _I can't control it anymore," Caroline sobbed suddenly, eyes averting to the ground when he kept her face up to stop her chin from dipping down. His recently unfrozen heart broke at the sight of her tears, even as he tried his best to wipe them away with his thumbs the second they reached her bloodstained cheeks. "I'm a monster and I'm too weak to fight it."

Shocked by her subdued words, it took Klaus a moment before he could even reply. Clenching his jaw at the mere thought that she could ever believe that, tipped her head up to try and make her eyes meet his again. When she failed to do so, he lowered his head to try and catch hers.

"Caroline, look at me! This isn't you. You are not a monster and you are _most definitely _not weak. You have spent the last fifteen years with me and not once have I managed to convince you to drink from humans. _This isn't you_," he attempted to comfort her, but the small sobs that continued to rock her body told him he was failing. "Look at me!"

Caroline sucked in a breath and finally looked at him; watery eyes doing nothing to hide the fear, agony and shame in them. It lasted only a second before she glanced up into the night sky instead. "_I can't_," she whispered in embarrassment.

"You _can_, love. You can," he gently coerced her, lowering his hands to shoulders and waiting until she calmed down enough for the fangs and everything associated with it disappeared.

Gaining control of her breathing, Klaus waited until her tears began slow down and she met his gaze once again. "Take me home."

It took just over 20 minutes to get to the penthouse they called home when in New York. Their drive over was silent except for a couple of phone calls he placed; one to his lackeys to take care of the humans they had left behind in the alley way (and make sure they would survive, for Caroline's benefit) and another to Rebekah to inform her they were leaving and had taken the car, so to find another way home. He hadn't waited for her to finish her string of choice words, cursing him to the different levels of hell for abandoning her. He would explain in the morning.

Klaus kept her huddled next to him from the moment he opened her car door to the point of entering their suite, knowing she was too caught up in the events that had just transpired to carry out the autonomous actions. Even inside their home, she seemed too lost in her own mind to do anything other than follow him as he guided her straight through their bedroom and into the en suite.

Helping her onto the counter next to the sink, he quietly retrieved a wash cloth and dampened it with warm water. Caroline sat silently, staring at her hands in her lap as she fiddled with the hem of her top. In the bright light, Klaus could now see the tiny flecks of blood that grimly decorated it, and a small part at the back of his mind saddened at the thought of having to destroy the top he loved seeing her in.

Taking her hands into his, he placed them onto the counter next to her before gently nudging her legs apart to make enough space for him to get closer to her.

"What's happening to me?" she asked, voice echoing in the silence of the bathroom, eyes closing when he tenderly tipped her head up so he could wipe away the dried blood that stained her beautiful face.

"You were simply overwhelmed, sweetheart," he replied calmly, knowing that taking her to the vampire nightclub was the catalyst that led to her actions.

Caroline shook her head, jarring him from his actions until she stopped. "I don't get overwhelmed, Klaus. Its _me_. I'm- I'm neurotic and insecure which makes me super conscious about everything," she stated, hands clenching into fists next to her legs. It hadn't gotten past him that she refused to touch him, but he allowed her to go at her own pace until she was comfortable once again.

"I know. I know, my love," he assured her softly, cupping her cheek in one hand as he cleansed the other. It was mesmerising to see the dark red fade into pink to finally reveal her alabaster skin he was so fond of stroking. "You are still a young vampire. Its very uncommon for a vampire to go without drinking from the vein straight from the moment they turn. And sometimes, despite your outstanding control, it can be tough to fight your natural instincts. Especially when your inhibitions are down and are surrounded by vampires openly feeding and humans volunteering willingly."

"But I'm a _good_ vampire," Caroline insisted, her tone pleading and looking for his reassurance on the fact that she was still one. She met his eyes once again when he rinsed the cloth and then started to carefully wipe away around her mouth, the insecurity she spoke about shining brighter than he had ever seen in her green eyes.

"You are the best," Klaus told her honestly, offering her a ghost of a smile. She continued to simply stare at him, struggling to believe his words as she gnawed on her lower lip. He tugged it out gently with his thumb before running the wash cloth under it to get the last of the blood off her chin. "You truly are, and this one… _slip_ doesn't change that, ok? Even in your bloodlust, you didn't kill anyone."

Perking up at his words, he felt the tightness around his inside begin to loosen up when the spark he was so use to seeing in her shone faintly. "I didn't?" she asked in relief, a small smile curving her lips when he swiped at her nose to remove the streak of blood on it and shook his head in confirmation. "But what if it happens again?" she questioned, worry lining her words as she began to frown.

Tossing the cloth into the sink, he framed her face with his hands before pressing his lips to hers in firm kiss. Pulling away, he looked into her eyes and hoped he could make the self-doubt she had swirling in them go away one day. "Then I will be there to stop you, again."


	25. I Wish You Would Come Back

_**Caroline - "I wish you would come back. I wish I never asked you to make that stupid promise. And I wish you knew that I'll never forget you for as long as I live. And I really wish you were right here, right now."**_

Requested by anon.

* * *

><p>Caroline curled up on her childhood bed. Her stuffed brown bear was on her lap as she played with it absentmindedly and allowed herself to think about the past few days. It had been the toughest ones of her life so far. Much harder than adjusting to vampire life, and even that little bit more unbelievable than when her father died.<p>

The house was the quietest than it had been over the recent weeks. People had been dropping by to pass on their condolences and see how she was doing. Caroline's in built manners meant she couldn't throw them out or turn them away whenever it got too much. Her friends were constantly with her, making sure she was never physically alone and, she suspected, making sure she didn't turn off her emotions.

It had been tempting, Caroline couldn't deny it. The only time she really had thought about it was the first morning she woke up as an orphan and realised even as a human, she was far too young to be without a family. A sob had racked her body as she slowly registered what it truly meant for her mom to be dead. It wasn't only that she would never see her again, but she would never get to hug her, talk to her or even receive her assuring smiles when life got tough.

Life had reached its toughest point, but her mom wasn't there anymore.

She had cleared out her house that evening, insisting that she would be alright for one night by herself. It probably wasn't the wisest decision considering all she had done was sit on her bed, but she couldn't take the sympathetic looks or the coddling any longer. She needed time to herself and comfort, but the latter somehow never came. She suspected it never would.

Spotting her phone on her bedside table, Caroline picked it up and scrolled through the messages and missed calls she had received nonstop. There were even a few voicemails, including one from Steven, her father's former partner.

Listening patiently to them all, her heart stopped when she reached the end of her new messages and played the one she had saved from just before graduation. As Klaus' voice rang in her ear, informing her about his favourite place on earth, she recalled how she had been meaning to contact him but had simply slipped her mind.

Disconnecting the voicemail, she dialled his number and held the phone to her ear. She wasn't sure whether she wasn't him to answer or not, though she got her answer when she felt disappointment shoot through her at the automated voice of his inbox telling her to leave a message.

"Hey, I just thought I'd call and say thanks. For the, uh, flowers," Caroline said, referring to the mixed bouquet of roses, lilies and carnations he had sent. The card that had came with it had only stated his condolences and signed with _The Mikaelson Family_, just like every other delivery she had received. "I mean, they're pretty and are lost among the rest of the bouquets everyone else has left or sent, but thank you for the flowers nonetheless."

Sighing, she cleared her throat to calm herself down. It didn't matter how long she had been a vampire for, she had discovered that intense emotions were something she would never be able to control. The biting annoyance she had been too numb to feel the day she had gotten the flowers came back to her now. After everything he had done when he had been in Mystic Falls, after everything he had promised her, told her, vowed to show her; _that_ was what he thought she needed? More _flowers?_

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean- No, _actually_, I did," she began before changing her sentence halfway through when she realised that she had no need to apologize. "I appreciate the gesture but seriously, Klaus? My mom's _dead_. She's _gone_ and she's never coming back, but _you_ could have."

The words rolled off her tongue before she could even think about them, but she realised how untrue they were. He couldn't come back because she had told him not to. It was probably the best decision she had made regarding him (after giving in to her feelings that one time in the woods), but that was when she had a plan for her life. When she had a human life to live, and a human to live it for. Now, her mother was gone and the more she thought about it, the more she realised that the only thing that had kept her in Mystic Falls was her and everything she was doing to make her proud.

And _god_, but she could really do with having someone around who wouldn't always tiptoe around her, or constantly glance at her with sympathy and pity, or ask her how she was doing. Heck, even someone who was just there for her and told her it was ok to stay locked up in her room and under her covers all day instead of having to make nice with any guests who might pop by to see her. Caroline knew she couldn't have made it through the past couple of weeks without her friends, but it simply wasn't the same as having a _someone_.

"I wish you would come back. I wish I never asked you to make that stupid promise," Caroline admitted, clutching her teddy to her stomach at she recalled the long hours they had spent in the woods that day, and how it had seemed she had gotten the best of both worlds. Tired and emotionally drained, she carried on with the realisation that she simply didn't have the energy to pretend anymore. "And I wish you knew that I'll never forget you for as long as I live. And I _really_ wish you were right here, right now."

Pausing, Caroline waited until the tears that pricked her eyes began to subside. She had spent far too much time crying recently, and her eyes ached enough as it was. She would not spill any more, especially over a man. Taking a steadying breath (with a hysterical side of her wondering how she hadn't been cut off yet), she came to a conclusion.

"The funeral's on Sunday, and I have some things to sort out with the house and all, but I think I might come down to New Orleans after. If you'll still have me, of course," she stated, realising that perhaps some time away would do her some good. Whether going to Klaus was a great idea or not, she wasn't sure, but it was the only thing she could think of at that moment that might just keep her from ultimately crashing and burning. "I really hope you will because I feel so alone here without my mom and I could do with a distraction. So, uh, let me know?"

…

Caroline never heard back from him, and after the next day, she put it out of her mind. Perhaps somewhere like Miami would have been a better place to recollect herself before she adjusted to life without her mother.

The funeral passed uneventfully, and she was pretty sure she went through it in a trance. Her friends stood by her side; urging her on whenever it was needed, hugging her when she failed to keep herself together or simply squeezing her hand when she hadn't realised her nails were a millimeter away from breaking the skin of her palms.

It was only at the wake when it finally hit her. The house was filled with almost everyone from the town (everyone knew the Sheriff) and chatter was low but constant. Being the planner that she was, Caroline threw herself into making sure everything was ok; from the food to the drinks to even the paper plates and cups. It was when she was straightening up the napkins that her vampire hearing picked up on a conversation between two people she knew were part of the Founding Families.

"_After everything that went on in this town, its surprising it was _cancer _that took Liz in the end."_

They were words she had thought before, but hearing them out loud hit her the most. Everything her mother had done to protect the town, everything Caroline had done to try and protect her, and it wasn't even the supernatural that killed her. It was the most human thing that existed; illness.

Caroline pushed herself through the groups of people to the back door, shoving it open with all her might as she ignored the murmurings behind her. Clutching the railing of the back porch, she hiccupped through the lump that was perpetually stuck in her throat. Her heart was beating far too quickly for her undead body and her sight was swarming. Shuddering breaths came out unevenly, all the while as she wished her mom was right there to tell her what was happening to her.

She shook off the hands tugging at her waist, slapping them away when they failed to stop trying. She wanted to be left alone, despite feeling like her heart would simply burst at any moment. Perhaps it would give her the reprieve she was looking for.

Caroline wanted to yell, scream and shout at whoever it was that thought it was a wise idea to manhandle her when she was clearly having a panic attack, but words simply wouldn't formulate. The person was too strong for her to fight, and as they turned her around to face them (a _him_; tall and blonde, she could decipher through blurred eyes), she felt cool hands against her neck as thumbs swiped comfortingly at her jaw.

"Hey, hey, its ok, you're ok," the accented voice assured her softly, trying to catch her eyes when she averted them to try and regulate her breathing. Placing a hand over her chest, she could feel the thumping of her heart like it hadn't beat in almost two years.

Shaking her head, she pinched her eyes closed as she sobbed out, "I can't bre-. _I can't breathe_."

"Caroline, sweetheart, you don't _need_ to breathe, ok? You're a vampire; we don't breathe," Klaus (she had now determined) told her matter-of-factly. The knowledge shocked her for long enough to inhale a string of shaky breaths before stopping altogether when she simply _couldn't_ breathe out again. It felt physically impossible to do so. Opening her eyes, she met Klaus' with a trembling chin as she struggled to keep her wits about her and not fall back into the human need to breathe (however restricting it currently was). "That's it, love."

Blowing out her breath through slightly parted lips, she waited until her hiccups subsided to try and inhale again. Though it felt like hours, it couldn't have been more than a few minutes before she could regulate her breathing again. Her chest still ached from her heaving (though she was sure the pain she felt on the inside was due to something else entirely).

Indulging in his closeness, Caroline matched her breathing with Klaus' until it stopped burning the rawness in her throat with every intake. Exhaling deeply, she stiffened infinitesimally when she suddenly realised just _how_ close he was and the tender touch of his hands resting lightly on her flushed skin.

Klaus seemed to noticed too, if the way he slowly retracted his hands and stepped back to put a little bit more space between them was anything to go by. Taking him in, she wondered how long he had been in town (or if he had attended the service too). Dressed in his formal black suit, even the sombre occasion made him look dapper. Then again, if nothing else, death was Klaus' forte.

"Why are you here?" Caroline asked curiously, folding and rubbing her bare arms simply to do something with them.

"I came to pay my respects," he told her, inclining his head slightly to the house where she hoped her friends were doing their best to the guests from worrying about her. The last thing she needed on top of all this was the rest of the town wondering (gossiping, more like) whether she had had a breakdown.

Furrowing her brows, incredulity overtook her as she tried to cast her mind back to when the Mikaelsons still lived in Mystic Falls. "Did you even speak to my mom? _Ever?_"

Klaus opened his mouth to retort, but she shot him down with a glare. Clearing his throat, he gave her a ghost of his normal smile as he told her, "She accused me and my siblings of many things, most of them true. I believe she threatened me once, too," he added, words lined with a sense of appreciation.

"Yeah, that's Mom," Caroline said affectionately, shaking her head at the thought of her human mother standing up and _threatening_ not only a supernatural creature, but the Original Hybrid at that. If there was ever a moment where she was more grateful for him being in love with her (or had been, at least), she couldn't think of it. Reaching out, she placed a hand on his arm and squeezed it gently. "Thank you for coming, Klaus. I honestly wasn't expecting you."

"Your voicemail got me thinking," he told her, nodding solemnly. "I never wanted you to feel alone; it was never meant for you. So I came to see if there was anything I could do here until we go back New Orleans."

His use of '_we'_ hadn't slipped her past her, but she couldn't find it in herself to feel the relief or the joy at the fact that he was still willing to fulfil his promise of showing her his city. She knew it meant more than that. It was his way of telling her that he would be staying until she was ready to leave, to be there for her like she had wished.

Acknowledging words with another squeeze of his arm, she dropped her hand to wave it dismissively in the air. "It might be a little while. There's a lot of stuff I need to do still," she informed him with a watery smile to give him an out (because she refused to believe he would put her first until she saw it) before scrunching up her nose in thought. "I don't even _know_ what I need to do, honestly."

Klaus chuckled lightly and grabbed the hand she had left hovering in the air. Turning it around, she inhaled sharply when he grazed his lips against the back of it before lowering their joined hands in the space between them."You can tell me as you find out," he informed her, making his intentions clear about staying for as long as she needed.

"We, uh- We should go back inside," Carolie stuttered slightly, realising he wasn't going to let go of her hand until she made him. Her friends were all inside, and though she knew they wouldn't make a remark today of all days, she knew they would already be on edge by the fact Klaus was there in the first place.

But right then, she didn't particularly care about what they would think, do or not say. In the midst of her anxiety and shock of seeing him, she hadn't spared a thought towards them. They must have wondered the same thing as she had about his presence, and Caroline knew there would be questions about what had transpired on the porch.

Sliding her hand around to meet his palm with her own, she slipped her fingers between his and tightened her hold on him. It kept her grounded and level headed for the first time in a while. It was the comfort she had been searching for all along; the one focused solely on her without a care about anything or anyone else.

Straightening her back and holding her chin up high, she met Klaus' eyes one final time to make sure he was alright with what she had decided on their behalf. His warm eyes and miniscule nod was all she needed to lead them back towards the door that would take them inside.

Making sure to keep the distance between them as small as possible without seeming too intimate, her friends' eyes sought them out immediately upon their entrance, drifting down to the way she obviously clutched at his hand not a second later. There were going to be questions and curious glances after the moment outside anyway; why not add to it?


	26. Just Grab My Hand and Don't Ever Drop It

_**Klaroline - "Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it. My love."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>"I have a confession to make," Caroline whispered into Klaus' ear as she came up behind him. He looked over his shoulder with a faux irritated glance, making her smile brightly.<p>

"Is it that you invited the _Ripper_ without telling me?" he growled lowly, though their voices would have been lost among the live musicians Rebekah had hired (hopefully) for the annual Mikaelson pre-Mardi Gras ball.

"No. Its not a confession if you already know it," she scoffed in a tone that indicated he should know that fact.

"Yes, I'm sure the whole of Bourbon Street heard your greetings," Klaus grumbled, referring to her high pitched squealing as she had run to hug her best friend, before turning back to where people danced, laughed and drank in the room before them. He had chosen the bar at the side as the perfect place to observe the city's elite which _he_ had invited. Catching Stefan lead his sister onto the dance floor when the tempo slowed down, he sighed and turned to face her, smiling lovingly at her typical sunny expression. "Pray tell, Caroline; what _is_ your confession?"

"You look _so_ handsome tonight," she told him, a hand reaching out to smooth down the lapel of his dark suit jacket. Pursing his lips, she raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"That's it?" he asked, tone deflated as if he was expecting something much more interesting.

"Geez, Klaus. You could at least _pretend_ to be happy with my compliment," Caroline said sarcastically, propping her hand on her hip and rolling her eyes under her smokey-eyes makeup.

"Sweetheart, you already told me I looked handsome tonight. Right after I told you how breathtaking you looked," he reminded her, a sly smirk breaking out as he took in her floor length coral dress with a corset bodice and silk lined skirt. 'Breathtaking' didn't do her justice; she was a vision he would commemorate with a painting the following day, he was sure.

"Wouldn't hurt you to say it again," Caroline huffed under her breath and breaking Klaus out of his thoughts.

"What was that?" he asked in amusement, inclining his head to the side in curiosity though his supernatural hearing had picked it up.

"Nothing, nothing," she brushed off with a wave of a hand before holding it out to him. "Dance with me."

It was more of a demand than a question, but Klaus was never one to deny her anything. Grabbing hold of her proffered hand, he bent slightly over it and lifted it to his lips for a chaste kiss to the back. "As the lady wishes," he replied, throwing her a seductive wink as she grinned back before leading her onto the dance floor. "You do look absolutely ravishing tonight, Caroline."

"Thank you," she replied earnestly as he wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her to him, all the while clutching her other hand to his chest where she had rested it over his heart. He almost sighed in content at the feeling of her free hand playing with the curls on his nape after she had looped her arm around his neck. "My confession was how I'm falling madly in love with you."

"I thought it confession was something I didn't already know?" he replied after a beat, arching an eyebrow in a show of nonchalance when he knew very well she could feel his undead heart beating just that tad bit faster at her words. Seeing her open her mouth to begin to chastise him (he could already predict her behaviour at times), he soften his tone to add, "I love you, Caroline, with everything I am and everything I have."

Tilting her head to allow her blonde curls tumble over her shoulder, she smiled adoringly at him. "Must be quite a lot then, huh? Because you are sort of a bigwig around here, and you do have a whole city to your name," she stated matter-of-factly though he could hear some anxiousness to the words.

"Hmm, something like that, yes," Klaus replied with a soft smile in response to hers; hoping he could strive off her apprehension by downplaying his true feelings (which were actually more than 'quite a lot'), though considering she had been the first to accuse him of being in love with her many years ago, he was sure she already knew how far gone he was.

There was a beat of silence between them where they continued to dance in time with the music with a practiced ease that only came after dancing with the same partner over the years. He could practically hear her mind turning, a ghost of the smile that was previous gracing her lips portraying her mental distress.

Caroline sighed and met his eyes with a sad smile and a brush over the back of his neck. "I wish I had the same to give to you," she finally admitted, taking him back by her words of longing.

"Do you remember the first thing I said to you the night you turned up in New Orleans? After you asked if my offer of being your last love still stood?" he instantly asked her, holding her tighter until she was pressed against him in a manner he was sure was not acceptable at a formal gathering like their ball.

She blinked for a second as she recalled their first conversation in his great city. "'Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it'," she repeated airily, a smile of relief appearing on her lips as it had done that very day, before tagging on, "'My love'."

Chuckling at her delayed completion of his request, he kissed her forehead tenderly before catching her eyes. "And that is all I will ever ask from you."


	27. Kidnapping Caroline

_**Klaroline - Kidnapping Caroline to get to Klaus**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Klaus had slaughtered four witches by the time he got to the derelict room where they were holding Caroline. A spell sounded from inside, creating a near immobilizing pounding in his head that he only fought through at the thought of Caroline having to suffer it too. The barrier that kept her in and him out was broken the second he threw the splints from the wooden door frame he had ripped off with his bare hands and aimed straight for the two witches' throats. Their chanting stopped immediately and a few seconds later, as their lives ended, the spell was broken.<p>

On his knees, he gathered her barely conscious form in his arms from where she laid on the cold, stone ground. He didn't think he wanted to know what they had done to her, but if the scorch marks on her beautiful, smooth skin was anything to go by, he could hazard a guess that they had tied her up with vervain soaked shackles. There were the odd few cuts and grazes that refused to heal in her weakened state, but it was only when she whimpered in pain as he tried to wrap an arm around her back did he find the worst injury of all; werewolf venom.

Gently lifting up her dirtied top from being held against her will over over 12 hours, Klaus caught sight of the growing injury on both of her hips. It was clear they had never meant for her to live for longer than a day if he hadn't met with their demands. Unfortunately, they never counted on him having a Bennett witch on his side, along with the rest of Caroline's friends.

"_Shhh_, love. I'm sorry," he attempted to comfort her when she cried out at the rustling of cloth against her sensitive skin.

Biting into his wrist, he gently but forcefully coerced her into drinking the cure. She remained limp against his body for a least a minute; it was enough to tell him just how much they had hurt her.

Caroline pulled away willingly when she decided she had had her fill and finally managed to lift her head away from his shoulder and look at him. "Klaus," she all but sighed, eyes falling close a second later before she opened them with a renewed sense of determination. Her hands found the dirt covered floor and tried to push herself onto her feet with little success.

Smiling to himself at her trademark attitude to never giving up, Klaus adjusted his hold on her to help her up without grazing her injuries. "Save your strength until we get out of here," he informed her softly before standing with her in his arms. "C'mon, sweetheart; up we get."

Wobbling on her feet, he contemplating carrying her out when she began to take the first few steps towards the door. Realising she needed to do it for herself, he held her to his side as they made their way out slower than he would have liked. He didn't trust the witches not to have a backup plan, and though he wasn't alone, he knew the rest of Caroline's gang of supernatural friends were still minutes out.

"I'm so tired..." she muttered, head dropping onto his shoulder in a sign that his blood had done its magic on her injuries but left much more to be desired for her overall well being.

"I know, I know. But we're almost out and then you can rest for as long as you want," he tried to reassure her, keeping half of his attention on their surroundings for any little sounds that were out of place for a house in the middle of nowhere.

"No," Caroline breathed, and his heart pinched at the sound of tears in her voice. "Tired of _hurting_. For others."

Klaus didn't have an answer for that.

_**...**_

Knocking lightly on the bedroom door later that evening, Klaus waited until Caroline opened the door to greet him. "Hey," she smiled at him before stepping back and letting him enter. He did his best to keep back the smugness when he saw her shut the door behind them.

"I thought you would want to be at home after what you went through," he commented, glancing around the guest room of the Salvatore boarding house. There was a bag sitting on a trunk at the end of bad with clothes spilling out of it. He could smell her scent all over the room, drifting in with the steam from the adjoin bathroom where she clearly had showered and cleaned up recently once again.

Nodding, Caroling tucked her damp hair behind her ears before replying. "Yeah, but Bonnie said my mom doesn't know and I'd rather keep it that way. She worries enough as it is. So, sleepover until this is all gone," she informed him before holding out her arms where he could see the cuff marks highlighted by her reddened skin on her wrists. His eyes immediately darted to her bare feet where her capri pants allowed him to see her feet were (thankfully) free of similar bruising.

Reaching out, he held onto her wrist so he could gently brush his thumb over her injuries to see how bad they were. They had definitely healed, but the vervain solution much have been very concentrated to still have blisters after the several hours it had been.

"Here, let me heal you," he offered, letting go to push up the sleeve of his top with the intention of giving her some more of his blood. It was the most potent medicine for all supernatural injuries, and for Caroline, he was willing to bleed himself dry to heal her back to her normal state.

Instantly, her hand darted out to stop him. Her grip on his forearm was light, but the sparks he felt as her warm skin touched his, send sparks through his bloodstream and into his heart, were nothing like he had ever felt before. He wanted to bask in it and cherish it all the same for the rest of his life. He wanted to feel it from the moment he awoke until he finally succumbed to sleep again, be it in a day, week or a fortnight.

He wanted it all, but for now, he would revel in the fact they were somewhat _friends_ where a gentle touch here and there seemingly meant nothing to her.

"No, its ok," Caroline smiled, squeezing his hand before letting go. "I mean, thank you. For everything. Finding me, healing me, saving me. But its just a little vervain. It'll heal overnight."

"Of course, love. No thanks needed," Klaus replied with a nod before pushing up the sleeve of his other arm instead of pulling the first one down. It helped to cool his mind down again after his internal flustering of her touch. "Is the venom fully out of your system?"

"I think so," she answered, scrunching up her nose in thought (and adorably) before she turned around and held up the hem of her top so he could see all of her lower back in its unmarred glory. "Its gone, right?" she asked over her shoulder, worry etched onto her features when he failed to reply.

"Uh, yes. Its gone," Klaus told her, averting his eyes to the floor as she turned back to face him. Clearing his throat, he met her gaze with deep honesty and a pang of worry. "I am truly sorry you got hurt because of me. I would never wish you any harm, least of all as a result of my affections."

"I-" Caroline began before cutting herself off. She seemed to ponder about her reply, and he could do nothing but wait for her next words. None came, though her nod and gracious smile told him that she accepted his apology, sending a flood of relief through his body. "Did they get it? The relic they wanted?"

Remembering the demands that the witches had made, and one of the intentions he had came over to see Caroline with, Klaus dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out a handkerchief (which he had stolen from Elijah's jacket that morning). It was neatly folded, and to anyone else, it might have looked like a simple piece of cloth.

"I killed them all before they got to see it," he told her without any remorse, glancing up through his lashes to see her reaction. Her lips were pursed but there was no sign of disgust or horror.

Unfolding the handkerchief in the palm of his hand, he held it out so she could see the small golden treasure he had hidden in there.

"Wow, all that for a little _coin_," she breathed out in disbelief, prodding it gently with the tip of her nail before letting out a dry laugh. "People are weird. Alive or undead."

Klaus had to chuckle at her statement, glad she could find humour in the situation she had been in. She was far too young to be jaded yet, and for her to lose her light over something he was indirectly responsible for would have been the most cruelest consequence that could happen to her.

"It actually signifies the coven comprising of their six lines, love. I picked it up in the 12th century when we were in Italy," he explained, referring to the six witches who had held her captive and who he had killed. Picking up the coin, he reached out for her hand and placed it into the middle of her palm before purposely curling each finger around it slowly. "As a show for my apologies. It cannot rectify or change what happened, but I hope you understand that nothing I own is worth your pain."

Caroline blinked at him for a moment before shaking her head. "I can't accept this, Klaus. I mean, I don't even know what to do with it," she told him incredulously, gesturing to the coin that she still held within her fist.

"Keep it, forget about it, sell it - if I were to guess, it is probably worth a few million dollars," he explained to her with a smirk, loving the way her eyes widened in shock at the revelation. "Destroy it, if you want. Do whatever it takes to help you move past today's horrors."

All the fight went out of her body at his request, dropping her hand to her side and sighing heavily. Taking a step closer towards him, she laid her free hand onto his shoulder before pushing herself onto her toes to press her lips to his cheek and allowing it to linger for longer than (he assumed) was friendly. "_Thank you_, Klaus," she whispered against his skin before dropping back onto her feet.

"You're welcome," he assured her, unable to match her smile out of disbelief at her bold actions. Silence fell between them for a moment before Klaus made the decision to see himself out just when everything between them was on even footing once again. "Let me know if you require anything else. I'll let you get some rest."


	28. You're Worth It, Trust Me, Ok?

_**Caroline - "You're worth it, trust me okay?"**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Caroline woke to the sound of a shower running and a bedroom that wasn't hers. Blinking slowly, she realised that the lights were dimmed for her benefit, as bright lights (such as the morning sun) would keep her from falling asleep again.<p>

She faced the huge windows, all of which told her it had passed sunset during her nap. Turning her head to her other side, she reached out to the closer bedside table for the cell phone she could see the outline of and brought the screen to life to see what time it was. 11:36pm it showed her, along with six new messages and a missed call from Elijah Mikaelson. The confusion of why the eldest Original would be calling her cleared when the shower was turned off and she recalled leaving her phone in her bag by the foot of the bed.

"You're actually a popular person," she commented when Klaus exited the adjoining bathroom with a towel wrapped low on his hips, waving his phone at him.

"When you've been around for as long as I have, you tend to make several acquaintances," he replied lightly as he headed to his closet. Caroline replaced his phone back onto the table before shuffling under the covers so she was sitting up against the plush pillows.

"I wasn't snooping. I just wanted to see the time and your phone was there," she informed him, fiddling with the edge of his black sheets in her lap before babbling on. "Sorry for taking over your bed, too. You weren't back so I tried to call but you were still out of service. Then I came up here and kinda fell asleep."

"It's not a problem, Caroline. You're welcome at any time," he assured her with a shrug, reappearing in his typical sleepwear of a pair of lounge pants and a tank top. Caroline offered him a grateful smile in reply as he perched on the edge of the bed next to her. "I assume you have had another argument with your mother."

"It's not 'another' if it's simply continuing from last time," she sighed, her smile turning sad at the heated words she had exchanged with her mom earlier that evening after dinner and before her mom had to go to work. They were never mean or hurtful, but the long going argument about her relationship with Klaus was brought up at least once a day. Tonight it had been Liz's mention about how quiet work had been for the police department lately before adding a offhanded, but pointed, remark about how it must have been because of the absence of werewolves every full moon now Klaus had turned into hybrids whichever hadn't left the town.

"Would you like to talk about it? I'm told it helps," Klaus offered with a sly smirk and a raised brow as he threw back her words of advice about talking from his mother's ball.

She laughed breathily at his teasing, knowing he was simply trying to comfort her in the way he knew how. "Not tonight, but thank you," she replied, sinking into the pillows as she pulled her legs up to her side so she twisted to face him. "I just wish it wasn't all so emotionally draining. I hate arguing with my mom."

"I know, sweetheart," Klaus says softly, all signs of teasing gone as he covered her hand with one of his and stroking it gently with his thumb. "Is there anything I can do? Would you like me to talk to her again?"

Caroline smiled at his offer and turned her hand around so she could meet his palm to palm, gazing in amazement at how their hands simply seemed to fit even though his were generally bigger with his fingers longer. They were calloused from the thousand years they had seen, though a part of her wondered whether they had garnered the roughness during his human years through hard manual labour. The Mikaelsons lived lives of luxury since being turned and vampires barely bruised let alone scarred. His hands were the same as they had been in the 10th century, and it still amazed her how tender his touch could be when he had used them for so many things over the millennia. A thousand years between them yet her hand fit his as if they were made for each other.

"It won't help our case if she feels like we're pushing it on her," she pointed out. Shaking her head to clear it, she put on a confident smile and squeezed his hand. "It's ok. With time, she'll see I'm not going into this blind and how happy I can be." His eyes casted down at her words of choice, knowing he had picked up on her use of 'can be' rather than 'was', because her happiness was currently stifled by her ongoing fight with her mother about them. About him.

"I'm sorry, Caroline. I would do anything so this wasn't so hard on you," he told her in quiet earnest like he always did when it came to matters of the heart he was yet to feel comfortable talking about out loud. Actions, he could do. Words were coming slowly, but she was enjoying the journey.

"I know, and that's what makes it worth it. You're worth it, trust me, ok?" Caroline said matter-of-factly, her stomach coming alive with a dozen of dancing butterflies when Klaus gave her his dimpled grin in response."I mean, my mom knows that. If she didn't think we truly had something, that you meant more to me than just some passing crush, that we didn't have what it takes to last, then she wouldn't be so adamant in making me reevaluate every part of our relationship. I get it, you know? She's my mom; she just wants what's best for me. Even if it leads to us constantly arguing," she added, saying out loud what she told herself every time they fought to remember her mom simply worried because Klaus was nothing less than a mass-murdering sociopath with a thousand years on her. If she was honest, Caroline would be more upset if her mother didn't worry.

"Even if it's because of me?" Klaus prompted sceptically, showing the self-conscious side of him he covered up with his bravado and the Original Hybrid persona on the day to day basis. When it was just the two of them, however, there were times she managed to get a glimpse of the man underneath.

"Even if it's because of you. When she cools down about it a bit, she'll give you a chance to try and prove yourself. She'll see what I do if you allow her. She'll probably never be happy with us or give us her blessings, but she'll accept it," she assured him, truly believing in what she spoke. They would never get her mother's warm wishes but in the end, she would stop fighting against them once she saw he was not a danger to her daughter. Caroline didn't expect it to happen anytime soon (a few years would be optimistic; a few decades would be realistic) but she kept that to herself. Realising the sombre mood encasing them, she decided to end the conversation instead. "Can I stay here tonight?"

Klaus perked up infinitesimally at that, pulling his hand out of hers and spreading out his arm to gesture at the vast space of his bed she didn't currently take up. "Of course you can. I always enjoy your presence," he said with a smile, tucking back a curl that hung by her jaw when she bit her bottom lip and tilted her head slightly down.

"Can I have a hug?" she asked, looking up from under her lashes. She giggled silently when he rolled his eyes at her coercive manners, taking her into his arms nonetheless and bringing her onto her knees to hold her tightly like she always enjoyed.

Wrapping her own arms around his shoulders, she sighed at the feeling of his rough stubbled brushing against the smooth skin of her neck and jaw as he nuzzled her gently. "I love you, Caroline," he whispered against her shoulder, his words warm and tender as his lips moved softly against her skin.

She gently ran a hand over his damp hair and brushed a kiss to the back of his head in acknowledgment of his heartfelt words. "I know," she replied, because she had yet to say those three little words back to him.

Though she was fairly certain she was falling in love with him, she knew reciprocating the sentiment prematurely would be far too cruel for a man who never believed he could ever be loved. She knew she wouldn't appreciate it; if someone told her they loved her, she wanted it to be something she could believe as fact. Loving someone shouldn't be doubted if it's being stated, and with Klaus' self-destructive paranoia, she'd have to know and believe in it herself to be able to convince him. So she would wait until the day she knew for sure before giving him the response she knew he sought but never asked for.

It wasn't too far off; of that she was certain.


	29. I'm Not Wearing That

_**Caroline - "I'm not wearing that."**_

Requested by anon

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><p>"I'm not wearing that," Caroline exclaimed from where she perched on the end of Rebekah's bed. Her sister-in-law held up a pair of matching cheerleading outfits, red and white with matching hair ribbons, just like when she was human. Only the hems on these skirts would have had them suspended from Mystic Falls High.<p>

"Oh c'mon, it'll be fun!" Rebekah smiled, shaking the new clothes she had bought for them for a Halloween party later that evening.

It was a tradition they had started a few years after Caroline had arrived in New Orleans, both turning up at a Halloween party in similar clothes without meaning to. Though at first it had been a nightmare for them both (who wanted to turn up at a party looking the same as someone else?), over the years, it slowly became a tradition for them to attend whichever party in whichever city they were in (London, this year) in matching costumes.

"'Fun'? Your brother will go on a rampage worse than Jack the Ripper if I go out in that," Caroline told her incredulously, pointing to the clothes in question.

Rebekah lowered her arms and cocked a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her. "Since when have you let Nik tell you what to do?"

"Well- I mean- I don't," Caroline stuttered indignantly before sitting up straighter and clearing her throat to change the subject. "But seriously? Didn't you have any better ideas?"

Holding up one of the uniforms to her body, Rebekah swayed from side to side to make the skirt flare up slightly as she did. "What? I rather enjoyed my days as a high school cheerleader. Didn't you?" she asked, peering over her shoulder at her floor length mirror to appreciate her reflection.

"Yeah, sure, you know, when you weren't trying to take my place or my boyfriend or my life..." Caroline stated dryly, catching the other blonde's eyes via the mirror.

"Now, aren't we glad you've moved past that?" Rebekah sassed, offering her a sarcastic smile as she turned back and held out her clothes to her. Caroline hesitated, eyeing it carefully before pushing herself onto her feet and swiping it out of her hands.

"This is the last time I'm letting you pick out my costume, though," she huffed, taking a closer look at the clothes she would be spending no less than 6 hours in that night. She couldn't fault how comfortable it looked, and stylish too. It just not what she expected to wear four decades after graduating high school.

"Maybe next year, you won't make me go shopping by myself," Rebekah said pointedly, staring her down with a look mixed with irritation and disgust, though Caroline couldn't find it in her to feel ashamed at the fact she had traded a couple of shopping hours with her for a couple of wild sex hours with her husband.

"Maybe next year, I just won't get out of bed," she replied in the same tone, matching Rebekah's overly saccharine smile with one of her own.

"Tradition!" Rebekah sang brightly, both of them knowing that Caroline's threats of leaving her to go solo were perfectly harmless. Making her way over to her walk-in closet, she called over her shoulder, "Be ready by 8. We're going out for pre-drinks."

"Of course we are," Caroline muttered but not arguing the plans made on her behalf. Leaving the room, she headed back to her own with her uniform in hand. She was somewhat surprised to see Klaus lounging on the bed, dressed for the day (unlike when she had left him half an hour earlier) and sketching away. He glanced up when she entered, the beginning of a sly smirk tugging at his lips when he caught sight of what she carried. "Not. A. Word."

Of course, her warning fell on deaf ears as he put down his pencil and eyed the clothes she hung up on the back of the closet door. "You know, I never had the chance to see you in your cheerleading costume in Mystic Falls," he informed her with an obvious underlying message.

"Its a uniform, not a costume," she corrected him, purposely ignoring his suggestive words as she mentally planned which shoes would go the best. "And you saw Rebekah; I looked the same."

Klaus let out a strangled groan at her offhanded remark. "Must you ruin my fantasies so easily, Caroline?" he practically spat out, and when she turned to face him, she wasn't disappointed to see his beautiful mouth marred with a disgusted scowl.

"Yes, because I am not roleplaying with you tonight so I'm nipping that in the bud, you perv," she laughed, tossing a hair scrunchie from the vanity table in his direction (which he deftly caught and put aside) when she passed it by.

"What's the cos-uniform for, if not me?" he asked curiously, and she had to grin at his genuinely confused tone that she had not gotten the uniform for him.

"Its Halloween, Klaus. You know Bekah and I have our long standing traditional night out planned," Caroline replied, picking up the sketchpad from his lap and closing it with the pencil caught between the pages he had been working on (a drawing of her, if she wasn't mistaken) to place it onto the side.

"Somehow I feel like my sister is the one to blame behind that," he snarled at the uniform, gesturing towards it with his chin as she took his hands in hers and climbed onto his lap. Straddling his legs, she placed his hands onto her waist with careful precision before laying her hands onto his chest. "Its colder here than it is in New Orleans, love."

Rolling her eyes at his attempt to ward her off wearing the cheerleading costume that night, she rubbed lightly at his chest with her palms through his top. "We're vampires, remember? Can't feel the cold, as you point out every time I use it as an excuse to cuddle with you," she teased, leaning forwards to brush her lips against his, only to lean back when he tried to turn it into something deeper. Holding him in place with gentle pressure on his chest, she grinned as he tightened his grip on her hips and shifted her slightly so she could feel his obvious arousal at whatever it was his imagination had conjured up. Sighing, she tapped a finger against his nose as she smile devilishly, "Don't worry. The only person getting under my skirt tonight is you. If you're good."

Klaus wore a smile to match hers, with a hint of lust and want in his eyes, at her added words. "And if I'm not?" he asked lowly, hands slipping under her top to smooth up her back tantalisingly.

"Then you're not getting under my skirt tonight," Caroline stated simple, trying her best to shrug nonchalantly when she felt a shudder run through her body at his sensual touches as they rounded forward towards her stomach.

Chuckling, he gave her no warning as he flipped her onto her back and hovered above her in one fluid move. Her squeal of surprise was muted by his lips before he dragged them along her cheek and to her ear. "I prefer ripping your clothes right off, anyway," he whispered before proceeding to show her exactly what he meant.


	30. Sleeping On The Couch

_**Klaroline - Caroline makes Klaus sleep on the couch**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>"In my defense-" Klaus began as she slammed opened their bedroom door.<p>

"_In_ _your_ _defense?!_ You don't get to have a defense-" Caroline cut him off, twirling around to face him with the skirt of her dress fluttering around her knees and anger written all over her face.

"-I was only doing what I thought was best," he finished over her words, frustration clear in his fixed jaw and pursed lips as he waited for her to complete her sentence.

"-when you kill _five_ people on our date!" she exclaimed, hands curling into fists and pressing them against her waist to reel in her emotions.

Klaus inhaled deeply, letting out slowly before speaking carefully. "I repeat; I thought they were going to attack us so I attacked them first."

"You ruined our night!" Caroline snapped, resisting the urge to stomp her foot in irritation at the fact that everything she had planned for that evening (from their walk home to the lingerie she had on under her dress) had been ruined.

"Well, its better than being dead, isn't it?" he remarked dryly, crossing his arms as he raised a challenging brow at her.

Stifling a scream in her throat, she tossed her head back and threw out her hands in exasperation. "You don't even know if they _were_ trying to kill us!"

"They were renegade wolves from outside of the city; of course they wanted to harm us. Harm _you_!" he informed her with a roll of the eyes as if the matter should have been obvious. She didn't appreciate the patronising attitude and shot him a glare to let him know.

"If you had let them live, maybe we would have found out exactly what it was they wanted," she remarked pointedly, letting her arms drop to her side tiredly.

"If I had let them live, we wouldn't have managed to finish our night anyway," Klaus retorted matter-of-factly. It was true, they both knew it. If they had remained alive, he would have spent the rest of the night, and who knew how long after, interrogating them in any and every way he knew how to get every piece of information out of them.

"I guess we'll never know now because my dress is all bloody now and I stink of werewolf blood," Caroline huffed, scrunching up the sides of her dress in her hands to emphasise the darkened red splatter decorating the hem of the light blue material and fading upwards. "I need to change, and then I think I'm just going to go to bed," she added tiredly.

Stepping closer to her, Klaus brushed her hands away from her dress and held them both in one of his before hooking a finger of his other hand under her chin. Keeping her eyes fixed on his, she purposely ignored the tender touch of his thumb strumming gently under her bottom lip and decidedly remained indifferent.

"Caroline, love, I am sorry for ruining our evening, but I am not sorry for what I did. We have been on many dates before and we will go on plenty in the future," he said quietly but firmly, eyes ablaze with confidence. "Though I need to you be _alive_ to do so."

She shook his hand off her and pulled hers free from his grip, but remained where she stood. "Don't you turn this on me! You know I appreciate everything you do to look out for me, but that doesn't mean you can simply rip out the hearts of five people just because you _think_ they were against us."

"They _were_ against us!" Klaus exclaimed, turning away from her as he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighing resignedly. "I am not arguing with you about this, Caroline. What's done is done, and that's is all there is to it."

Caroline nodded, agreeing that their argument needed to end there for the time being and perhaps take some time to breathe and think things through. "Fine, I'm going to shower. Don't even think about joining me. Actually, you know what? Take the couch tonight; its the least you can do after ruining our evening," she told him when he faced her again, banishing him to the couch (be it the one in their room or in his studio) even though she was fairly sure he simply wouldn't sleep tonight. Either that or use one of the (many) spare rooms.

"Whatever you want, sweetheart," he agreed wryly before disappearing into the closet to change out of his ruined clothes as she made her way to the bathroom.

…

It had been over two and a half hours (by 13 minutes to be exact) when Caroline realised she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night in the empty bed. She was use to occasionally sleeping by herself when Klaus decided to run some vampire matters and she didn't feel like getting into her _queen shoes_ for the night, but they had never slept apart after an argument before. If they weren't resolved before bed, then it would be paused with some angry sex or simple lust-filled sex as a result of their built up tensions. After falling asleep due to exhaustion, they would carry on with their disagreement the next day, usually much calmer. Or at least, with more space than their bedroom.

Realising that sending Klaus away might have been the problem instead of talking it out after a short breather, Caroline sighed and tossed the covers aside to climb out of bed. Using her heightened senses, she ignored the signs she recognised as the rest of the Original family or whichever supernatural being was still around in the courtyard that late at night until she found a presence in Klaus' art studio. She should have guessed.

Pushing open the door as quietly as she could, she bit her lip at the sight of him sprawled out on his rather large, plush sofa. He had an arm flung over his eyes with a pencil still in his grasp and his sketchpad on his lap. She could smell the new paints he must have used as an outlet for his frustration before deciding to sit down and draw. It was his new motive, and she truly preferred it to him lashing out at whoever was closest, even if what he produced in those periods could be rather dark and gruesome.

He had lowered his arm by the time she closed the door behind her and made her way over to him; eyes finding hers even in the dim light. They were questioning and hesitant, and he remained silent even as she took the sketchpad off his lap and the pencil out of his hand and placed it onto the table by his head.

"Move," she commanded, matching his expression when he raised his brows at her in surprise. He stared at her for a moment before doing as she asked, making space for her to lay down as he turned onto his side and pressed against the back of the couch. "I might have overreacted earlier."

"Hmm?" Klaus said noncommittally even as his arms went around her once she made herself comfortable next to him. Her hands found his necklaces from where they peaked out from the edge of his top, tugging gently until they spilled into her palms so she could play with them.

"I don't agree with what you did; you know I hate violence," she stated, watching her hands intently for a moment before glancing up when she carried on. "But I was more upset that you ruined our night rather than how you did it. Which probably says more about me than anything."

There was a beat of silence, and she felt his chest rise to brush against hers when he breathed in before speaking. "Perhaps I shouldn't have reacted so instinctively, though you knew who I was before you committed yourself to this relationship," he replied, admitting the true reason why he had been so defensive earlier on; because she had attacked him for acting in the way she knew he did.

"I know, which I why I shouldn't have gotten so mad," Caroline admitted apologetically, letting her hands travel up to his neck to rest there lightly as she framed his face with the tips of his fingers. "I deserved to be a _bit _mad though."

Klaus chuckled quietly at that, nodding to show that he agreed she was allowed to be angry at the fact their night had been ruined. "Is that why we're sleeping here tonight?" he asked when she settled against him, pulling her arms into her body so they were trapped between the two of them. He tightened his hold on her, rolling them gently so she was on her back and he partially covered her.

"Yes, its our punishment," she told him strictly, tucking her head into his neck and finding her home for the night there. "Goodnight."

"Night, sweetheart."


	31. Are You Cheating On Me, Caroline?

_**Klaus - "Are you cheating on me, Caroline?"**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Caroline squealed when an arm around her waist suddenly tugged her back into a firm, warm body. She had been flipping through her event planning binder, pulling out anything which caught her eye and could be used for the forthcoming birthday party she was throwing for Rebekah. It wasn't a surprise party, but the other blonde refused to be involved and therefore leaving Caroline with all of the hard work. Not that she minded (throwing parties were her thing), but it was still a lot of pressure.<p>

"_Klaus,_" Caroline moaned when his lips met her neck, pressing heated kisses down it. She tossed her head back when he moved her hair over her other shoulder to give himself more skin to devour, gasping at the sharp but pleasant feeling of his teeth grazing over her jugular. Slapping lightly at the arm around her, she shook her head and tried to focus against on the binder in front of her. "Stop it, you're distracting me."

He chuckled lightly against her shoulder. "That was the plan, love," he said teasingly, tightening his hold on her as his other hand gently stroked the length of her side languidly and repeatedly.

Giggling at his sudden show of affection (sure they were alone in his office but it was a step up from when he would barely kiss her with anyone else in the house), she wriggled slightly in his grip when she couldn't reach out to pull out a colour sample for the decorations she thought would go well with the theme. "Klaus! _Seriously_, I can't work if you're all over me."

She smiled to herself when he sighed and halted in his kisses. "You don't sound like you're complaining much," he remarked against her shoulder at her amused tone, but loosening his hold on her a little so she could carry on with her work.

"Didn't you have plans for today?" she retorted, subtly trying to change the subject. His body was still pressed against his back and the light stubble of his chin prickled her skin in the most delicious way that reminded her exactly where else the familiar feeling of his rough stubble against her smooth skin had been.

"Yes, he did," Elijah's voice suddenly sounded in the room behind them, causing her to smirk when she felt Klaus stiffen before hiding his face into the crook of her neck. "Niklaus, we're going to be late if we don't leave now."

Unwinding his arm from her waist, Klaus finally stepped away from her to lean against the desk before them and face Elijah. "Its a human council, brother. I don't think they particularly _care_ about our tardiness," he retorted dryly, all three of them well aware of his lack of enthusiasm when it came to these meetings.

"No, but I feel like Caroline does," Elijah replied pointedly with a smug smirk that told them he had overheard her pleas to let her do her work. Caroline shot him an amused look over her shoulder at his words, glad to have the older Original on her side. Elijah nodded at her with a ghost of a smile before leaving them once again.

"I really do," she said in exaggerated earnestness, looking at Klaus with the most serious face she could muster against his mask of petulance. "I have someone coming over, and I need you guys out."

Klaus perked up at her words, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow in question. "'_Someone_'?"

"Yes, a friend. Did you really think I could plan this by myself?" she replied offhandedly with a scoff.

"If anyone could, it would be you," he grinned adoringly, adding a bit more of his charm as he reached out a hand to skim over her hip. Caroline swayed away from his touch with practiced ease, taking a small sidestep away from him and his roaming hands.

"Sweet talking me won't get you anywhere," she sighed with laugh before cradling her binder in both of her hands and gesturing towards the door with her head. "_Go! _Elijah's waiting."

There was a beat of silence where she stared him down, determined not to let him sway her away from her work (or himself from his). He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side in thought. "You're awfully keen to be left alone," he murmured slowly, pointing at her accusingly. "Are you cheating on me, Caroline?"

Pursing her lips, Caroline nodded once and turned back to the work in her hands. "Yes, that's it. I'm cheating on you, and if you don't leave _your house_ soon, I'll have to deal with you meeting my new suitor," she played along in a dry, begrudging tone.

Klaus scowled, unimpressed by her words. Rolling her eyes, she placed her binder onto the desk with the intention of organising the papers she had already pulled out when she was snatched away from the desk and into his arms once again.

Caught between his legs with his arms keeping her there, she once again found herself unable to do her work. She chuckled softly to herself and looped her arms loosely around his neck, causing him to shoot her a look of bemusement. If Klaus wanted attention, then she would have to give it to him lest he annoyed her all day long.

"Your sarcasm does nothing to ease my worries," he told her, an edge to his words though she knew he was simply teasing her. Tossing her head back, she laughed out right before yelping when he leant in and nipped gently at her collarbone,

"_Stop it!_" Caroline hissed, slapping him on the back and tugging him away by his collar when he failed to yield to her requests. He huffed against her skin, leaving a warmth that went all the way down to her toes, before pulling back. "Besides, we both know if I wanted to cheat on you, I wouldn't make it so obvious."

Before he could reply to her blasé answer, a voice bellowed through the marble lined halls and into the office. "_Niklaus!_"

"Its like having a father," Klaus muttered indignantly before smiling softly at her fake sympathetic look and kissing her gently. "Be good, won't you?"

Pulling back, she frowned in confusion. "Isn't that usually my line?"

"Somehow, it suited this moment more for me to say it," he said pointedly, letting her know that he hadn't forgotten about the unnamed guest she had coming over soon.

Groaning, she shook her head and stepped away when he pushed himself off the desk. "Leave, Klaus!" she exclaimed, shoving him on the shoulder towards the door and turning back to her work. The tingles still teased her toes from his earlier ministrations, and his low chuckles as he left the room did nothing to send them away.


	32. Better Safe Than Sorry

_**K****_la_us to Caroline - "Better safe than sorry"**_

Requested be anon.

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><p>Klaus silently observed the bloody mess in front of him. There were dead wolves strewn all over the clearing of the New Orleans bayous, interspersed by those who had fought alongside him. There hadn't been any casualties on his side, but the fallout of the battle would be more political than grief.<p>

Sighing, he watched his vampires (among the handful of werewolves who had fought with them for their land) struggle to either get to their feet or sit up even. There weren't many; most were afraid to fight against the only species who could kill them with one easy bite.

Quickly sweeping his eyes over the injured, he looked for the familiar blonde he hadn't immediately spotted. He had been aware of Caroline's presence throughout the whole fight, making sure to have her back though he had been honest when he had said he knew she could look after herself. It hadn't meant he hadn't tried to reason with her to stay home that night, because unlike his siblings and himself, she didn't have a thousand years on their opponents.

Finding her perched on some of the flat rocks near the centre of the clearing, he took in her form quickly and was glad to see she didn't seem hurt. He could hear her heart beating a tad bit quicker than normal and her breathing was faster, but he put it down to adrenaline rather than a fatal bite. Or so he hoped.

The thought startled him into action, picking up a discarded soda can from the derelict grounds of the former renegade wolves and bit into his wrist to let his blood flow freely into the can. Filling it half way, he passed it over the shoulder of the nearest vampire when he walked by on his way to Caroline's side, knowing it would be passed around to those who needed it.

Crouching down next to her, Klaus laid a hand on her back and held out his healing arm for her. "Love?" he prompted, lifting his wound closer to her mouth to urge her to drink the cure.

She glanced down at him briefly, eyes glazed as he waited for his words to sink in. Shaking her head, she smiled softly and took his arm in her hands to lower into her lap. "I'm fine; I didn't get bitten," she assured him.

"Better safe than sorry, and all that, right?" he replied, pushing back her hair to reveal her blood-spattered neck so he could cradle her face in his hand. "Please? Just for my peace of mind."

Her eyes searched his at his rare show of pleading, lips still curved in a gentle smile, before giving in and nodding. "Ok."

"Thank you," he murmured in relief, letting his hand smooth over her back once again as he watched her lift his arm to her mouth and use her newly-erupted fangs to pierce his healed skin. Her warm lips counteracted the sharp sting of her teeth, and the occasional swipe of her tongue evened out the pull of his blood out of his veins.

Klaus looked around the clearing quickly, happy to see the soda can he had handed out being distributed to the injured. Those already healed, or on their way to being so, were getting to their feet. He shared a pointed look with Elijah, who was instructing those who hadn't been hurt on the clean up, both understanding that just because the battle was won, it didn't mean the war was over.

Feeling Caroline pull away, he shifted his attention back to her, watching as she cleaned the area around his already-healed wound with her sleeve. The tender action made his heart clench and stomach jump, still not use to having someone try to take care of him, no matter how small or unnecessary.

Dipping his head, Klaus pressed his lips to her knuckles of the hand that was still wrapped around his wrist. He lingered for a moment longer than usual, simply to feel her skin under his lips once again, and smiled when he felt her brush a kiss against his forehead.

"Help me up?" Caroline asked when he pulled away. Getting to his feet, he tugged gently on the hand he now held until she rose. Brushing the dirt off her jeans (a pointless act due to the stains that now decorated it and meant it would be thrown out) she frowned at the sight around them. He glanced around the clearing once again, not surprised to see most of the vampires and werewolves having left. "Now what?"

Eyes snapped back to Caroline, he watched her take in their surroundings with a hint of despair before turning back to him. Pursing his lips, he simply let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight into the side of his body and began to lead her away. "Now, we go home and sleep."


	33. Are You Crazy?

_**Klaroline mates storyline with "Are you crazy?"**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>There was a dead witch at her feet, one who had come into their home and had had the nerve to threaten to kill her slowly if Klaus didn't do as she asked. In true Klaus-like form, he had growled, thrown some wisecrack abuse at her before snapping her neck and disembodying her head from the rest of her body '<em>just to be sure<em>'.

But despite the blood that was slowly leaking closer to her expensive Miu Miu boots, her mind was caught on one thing the witch had called them when (trying to) taunt Klaus.

"I'm sorry; we're _what?_" Caroline exclaimed, heels tapping against the marble floors as she followed him out of the hallway and into the adjoining living room whilst some of their vampires took care of the mess.

"Mates," Klaus sighed, pouring himself a glass of bourbon before doing the same for her.

"Are you _crazy_?" she cried out incredulously, swiping the glass from his hand and downing it all in one go before holding it out for a refill. He raised his brows, both impressed and amused at her actions, but followed through with her request nonetheless.

"No, but I know you say otherwise on a frequent basis," he replied dryly, replacing the decanter onto the sidebar and joining her in the middle of the room. Shrugging, he carried on, "Its a wolf thing. They have a much deeper attraction than just what they see or feel. More than just reproducing."

"Can't reproduce; I'm dead," Caroline interrupted wryly between sips as she took a seat on one of the couches.

"Its based on their instincts; something that makes them fit together and aware of each other in more than just a basic way," he carried on explaining, remaining where he was stood. "They are attuned with each other's feelings, thoughts and actions. Tell me that doesn't sound like us," he challenged her imploringly, and she couldn't ignore the hint of pleading in his tone.

Mulling over his words, she thought about what he had said and correlated it to their relationship. They had been together for over three years now, and she had always marveled at just how well they had seemed to gel together as a couple. They had their ups and downs like any other couple, and being the stubborn people they were, they argued a lot too. But in the end, they worked their way through it with an understanding of what the other person needed.

"Yeah, ok, but isn't that just loving someone? You get to know them inside and out," she argued, watching as he joined her on the other end of the couch, sitting with his back to the armrest so he could look at her.

"Of course," he relented with a small sigh, nodding.

Tilting her head to the side, Caroline shifted to bend a knee up onto the sofa and turned to face him. "You really believe in this?" she asked, to which he merely gave her a singular nod. "I'm not a werewolf, Klaus. How can we be mates?"

"I'm not a werewolf either, I'm a hybrid. Perhaps there are loopholes in our case," he countered, pausing to take drink of his whiskey before offering her a nonchalant smile. "Or perhaps it _just is_."

Settling into the silence for a moment, Caroline slowly finished her second glass of bourbon. Loopholes she could understand. God only knew how many she had sought for to kill the man in front of her years earlier. Loopholes existed in every supernatural faction, maybe they existed among a mix of them too.

"Mates, right," she finally said, trying the term out in relation to the two of them. He looked up from his glass to her, curiosity clouding his features as to where she was going with it. "Like on Animal Planet?" she questioned in confusion, suddenly making the connection in her head between the word 'mate' and the animal world. Klaus cocked an eyebrow at her, still obviously confused at her cultural reference. "They always show animals and how they act with one another, and mating. I mean, that's the same thing, right? They find each other based on whatever instincts they have, you wolves do the same."

"Sure, lets go with that," he agreed half-heartedly after her explanation, his mouth twitching with a smirk at her comparison. "Mates and mating are two different things."

"Oh? So mates don't have sex?" Caroline asked, trying to goad him into hurriedly rectify his previous statement, however his eyeroll told her he knew exactly what she was doing. "I still don't believe that whacko witch. She _did_ just threaten and have me strung and quartered, you know."

"Yes, and now she's dead," he reminded her matter-of-factly with a coldness marring his words. She nodded slowly, smiling softly when he shuffled slightly closer, placing his glass onto the coffee table next to them before laying a hand onto her crooked knee. "Caroline, my love, it changes nothing between us."

Klaus' insistent tone made her melt a little on the inside, realising he was slightly apprehensive about her reaction to this news. It also made her realise that her shock had not been mirrored for a second by him. "So you've known about this? That we're… _mates_?" she asked, the word slipping out with some uneasiness. She suspected it would take time to say it without wanting to either cringe or laugh.

"I have had my suspicions," he admitted, squeezing her knee gently before offering her a smirk. "But as you said, you're not a werewolf so it means nothing to our relationship. It only solidifies your position by my side among the werewolves."

"Wait, wait, wait," she gasped, suddenly perking up and sitting up straighter as his words hit home. "Are you telling me, that this mate thing, makes _me_ your Alpha _Female_?"

"In a traditional pack; yes, it would," Klaus confirmed slowly, as if he didn't understand where her train of thought was going until he saw a thoughtful smile appear on her features. "Why? Does that make you happy?"

Caroline sniffed haughtily, lifting her chin up high as she twirled a finger around the rim of her tumbler. "It definitely doesn't make me sad."


	34. Sometimes I Forget

_**Caroline - "Sometimes I forget you're a thousands years old."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>"You know, sometimes I forget you're over a thousand years old," Caroline murmured into the dark of the night. It was a random thought that come to her as she laid on his chest, both of them taking a much needed rest after the hours of lovemaking they had just indulged in. Playing with the cross on the rosary he wore, she drew small circles on his smooth skin with the age-worn edge of it. It was wooden and looked hand carved; the recognition being what brought the thought to the forefront of her mind.<p>

"You do?" Klaus asked in surprise, amusement lining his words. "From the constant quips, I would never have known."

Smiling sheepishly at the reminder, she hit him gently with the rest of her hand that wasn't currently preoccupied with the necklace and proceeded to ignore his jibe. "Like, if your mom never turned you all into vampires, you would have lived such a simple life all those years back and died a whole millennia before I was even born. We would never have even met."

"It wasn't a simple life, Caroline. There might not have been the difficulties of the modern hardships but we had our own just to survive. Starvation, poachers, the cold winters, the wolves, among other things," he explained to her matter-of-factly, voice hushed in the otherwise silent room as his hand trailed aimlessly up and down her bare back. "Not to forget Mikael too."

"Yeah, but people still survived, and you would have escaped Mikael soon. Found a girl, get married, moved away," she said with a small shrug, eyes fixed on the cross as it swirled around on his chest when she lifted it by the beads just a millimetre off his body and ignoring the sharp sting of jealousy that ran through her at the thought of him with another person.

"It wasn't that straightforward back then, sweetheart. People rarely married just for love," he informed her, making her frown. Dropping his necklace, she twisted to rest her chin atop of her hand and peered up at him, catching his eyes as he glanced down at her. His face, lit up only by the waning moon that made him more beautiful at night, was a perfect mask of indifference (for the facts he was telling) and adoration (for her; always her).

"Yeah, ok, you had to support them too but hey, you could fight and hunt. You were good at making things too," she argued, pursing her lips when he laughed softly and shook his head.

"Oh, love, I am _so_ grateful someone with a kind heart as yours hadn't had to endure the harsh reality of my human years," he said, bringing a hand up to smooth over her unruly hair before leaning down to press his lips to her forehead. Settling back into his pillows, Klaus tilted his head slightly as he carried on telling her about his past. "My father's abuse and very public shaming would have left me very unfavourable amongst the men wishing to marry their daughters off. They would not have deemed me worthy nor strong enough to look after them. With no support from my father, it would have been hard to secure any income to support a family in any way. Mikael had powers that reached across the whole village. No one would have gone against him."

Caroline held back the gasp that threatened to leave in reply to his words, instead swallowing it down around the lump in her throat at the imagery he had placed in her mind. As much as she hated the thought of him being with another woman, the thought of him never having anyone hurt much worse. "So you would have had to live out your life alone just because a certain evil dick decided he didn't like you?"

"Yes, though I'm sure I would have fallen victim to his hands before long. For good," Klaus added pointedly, and she shuddered to think of Mikael being successful in his lifelong ambition in killing Klaus. What made it worse was that, whilst they were human, none of them had been any the wiser of Klaus' true parentage (except for Esther, of course), which meant Mikael truly hated who he believed to be his very own flesh and blood.

"I would have married you," Caroline announced with determination, pushing herself up with her elbow on her bed and using his body to keep her balance. She huffed when her statement was met with a chuckle. "I _would_ have! You didn't deserve to be shunned because of something out of your control."

"Ah, so it would have been a _pity_ marriage," Klaus remarked, brows raised with a smile still playing on his lips.

"No! I would have loved you then too, and I wouldn't care what anyone else said," she told him strictly, dropping down to lay her head back onto his chest and snuggle into his side.

He placated her by exhaling deeply and wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her tightly against him. "And what do you propose we would have done after? Neither of our families would have helped us in any substantial way."

"We would have left! Found another village or gone to the wolf village," she informed him, peeking up through her lashes to catch him wince miniscule at the suggestion. "Ok maybe not. But we would have gone as _far_ _away_ as we could until no one knew of Mikael anymore and we would have started our new lives. You had your skills and I would have done whatever women did back then," she said offhandedly, dragging her hand down the arm he had flung out across the rest of the bed until she met his palm for palm.

"Household chores, and birth and look after the children," he supplied, chuckling when she pulled a face of disdain at the bleak prospects her life would have held back in the tenth century. Caroline could barely sit still in these days; cleaning only when she went through a phase and openly defying him unlike what a 'good wife' would have been like.

"Maybe I would have started a modern revolution of the time and helped you," she countered lightly before gasping in excitement and pushing herself back onto her elbows, eyes wide, as the imagery of the situation sunk in. She could almost visualise it; the two of them, dressed accordingly (Klaus in a tunic with long hair and a sword was something she would give her left arm to experience) and finding a new village to call home before living a short but fulfilling life in their modest hut. "It would have been awesome! We would have built our own house, had our own lives. Been happy together."

"What _really_ would have happened was a few months or years of poverty as we struggled to find a permanent settlement. When we did, it would have taken time to establish ourselves in that community so we'd have been outcasts for a while until the locals began to trust us. You would have felt homesick, missing your parents, and I would have missed my siblings and worried if Mikael was taking out his anger on them now," he corrected her, causing her mood to deflate with every passing second as he carried on with his rather detailed explanation.

"We would have fought through it!" Caroline insisted tersely, her words wavering at the end as the reality of the situation he had painted sunk in.

"We wouldn't have lasted long enough to fight through it, my love. Or you would have resented the life you were forced to keep due to the children you bore," he told her, squeezing the hand she had found earlier in a form of apology at dashing her momentary dreams of their alternative lives.

"You make it sound so horrible. Why couldn't we have worked? We've made it work now," she asked curiously, because if there was one thing she was sure of, they could make it through anything if they stuck together and put their minds to it.

"Now and then are two very different times and circumstances," Klaus replied, reminding her of the fact that being immortal now meant they didn't have to deal with the human aspects of live such as a limited amount of years with each other or children taken their attention from working on their marriage. His fingers stroking the back of her hand broke her out of her thoughts as he spoke in a low murmur. "Perhaps I just need to believe we wouldn't have worked back then."

"Why?" she questioned, and there was a short pause where he played with the diamond encrusted band that newly adorned her left hand.

"Because then it gives everything that happened to me over the last thousand years a purpose," he said softly, eyes jumping to meet hers from where they had previously been staring at their joined hands. "Meeting you."

Smiling slowly, Caroline pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat before working her way up the underside of his jaw to his chin and finally meeting his lips with her own. They kissed lazily for a few minutes, taking the time to simply enjoy one another without the worry of what might have or might never have been.

Pulling away, she dropped one final kiss to his swollen lips before settling back down with her head nuzzled into the crook of his neck and a leg hooked around his to help her shift herself partially onto him. Clutching loosely onto the necklaces that came under her hand, she felt herself beginning to be pulled under sleep's spell.

"I still would have married you," she whispered, holding onto the remains of their conversation as she slowly began to succumb to the after-adrenaline rush of their activities and conversation.

"Go to sleep, love," Klaus sighed contently, choosing not to reply to her last remarks out of fear of breaking her out of her somnolent bubble when he disagreed with her. Instead, he simply held her close and gently stroked her hair in the way he knew would relax her completely, glad that he got more than just a human lifetime to get married.


	35. Ties

_**Established AU Klaroine, where Caroline forms a habit of tying Klaus' tie, which leads to him proposing using a tie.**_

Requested by t-pak

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><p>"What's that?" Caroline asked, stopping short after exiting the bathroom and into their bedroom where Klaus was currently getting ready for the Mayor's dinner and drinks they were attending that evening.<p>

"What?" he asked back, looking up in the middle of shrugging on his suit jacket with furrowed brows and concern etched on his features.

"That _thing_ around your neck!" she spat in disgust, dumping the make up bag in her hands on the vanity table before slipping into the silver heels she had picked out to go with her violet dress.

Klaus glanced down at himself, smoothing a hand down his chest as he did so. "I believe its my tie, love," he replied bemusedly.

"No, that's _a_ tie. That is _not _the tie I picked out for you to wear tonight," Caroline pointed out with a huff, turning to give herself a once over in the floor length mirror that decorated one side of their walk-in closet. When he failed to reply, she looked over to see a blank mask on his face. "Jeez, Klaus! The one thing you needed to do and you totally ignored me when I was telling you, didn't you?"

"You were half naked when you were doing so, Caroline. I will admit, it wasn't your words I was paying attention to," he conceded smugly with a shrug, a smirk forming on his handsome features when her glare failed to portray her true annoyance due to the smile tugging at her lips.

Clearing her throat, she turned on her heel and found the dark purple silk tie she had chosen for him on his side of the closet (the part she hadn't taken over), neatly placed with the rest of his collection. "Nuh-uh. No sweet talking or cheesy lines. Tonight has to be _perfect_, and to be _perfect_, we have to look _perfect_. Got it?" she demanded, pointing a finger in his direction as she walked over to him.

"Perfectly," Klaus repeated lightly, not fighting her as she unceremoniously tugged away his current tie, throwing it haphazardly in the direction of the bed, before looping the tie she had selected around his upturned collar. He laid his hands on her waist, pulling her into his body until she elbowed him in the solar plexus to allow her some room to work.

"Shut up," she muttered indignantly, concentrating on the task at hand as she secured his new tie with a Windsor knot. It wasn't something she had great practice with, but after fifteen years with Klaus, there had been a few instances where her _Miss Mystic Falls _training had come handy. Happy with how it turned out, she nodded to herself and turned down his collar, patting the knot in pride. "_There_, now we match!"

"And everyone knows I belong to you," he added teasingly, to which she scoffed.

Pressing her lips to his briefly so not to ruin her lipstick, she sighed contently when she pulled back. "Oh honey, everyone already knows that."

…

"Wait!" Caroline gasped, stopping him in his stride towards the bedroom door. Giving him the once over, she took in his sleek form and pondered what it was that seemed _off_ to her. They were hosting a small party (a ball, really, considering the namesake room they were using) to bring together the different factions of the city in a superficial imitation of peace. It was more to remind them all who was really in charge once again. "Bowtie. A bowtie will look better."

"You _are_ kidding, aren't you?" Klaus asked skeptically, unsure what was wrong with his casual silver tie. Allowing him no heed, she raced quickly into the closet in her barefeet before he left. "Very well."

Finding the drawer housing his ties, she quickly flicked through the small collection of bowties (seriously, a _collection_ of various styles, colours and materials) until she came across an interesting one that would actually match the design of her dress. "Hey, I found this diamante studded one-"

"Not in my _very long_ lifetime, sweetheart," he cut her off quickly and sharply, making her smirk.

"Fine," she brushed off, picking up the plain black one and making her way over to him. She smiled at the fact that he had already undone his tie, currently hanging loosely from his fingers. Pulling it into her hands, she tucked it into the crook of her elbow before setting about to tie his bowtie. "Why do you have it if you won't wear it?"

"It must have been a gift or something," he said offhandedly, and she could feel his eyes burning a hole into the top of her head. Glancing up through her lashes, she blushed at the heated gaze in his eyes. It was amazing how much adoration and love he could portray in one simply look.

Going back to the tie, her nimble fingers worked the smooth material into place before getting started on it. "Why would anyone give you a _bowtie_? Don't they know you?" she asked half-heartedly, crooking an eyebrow dubiously.

"You buy me ties all the time," he pointed out, dragging a finger down her bare arm until she was forced to slap it away to regain her concentration from where her mind had wandered into dangerous _erotic_ territory.

"I'm your girlfriend; it's my right to dress you how I want," Caroline insisted, finishing up his bowtie with a wide smile and a pat to his cheek. "_There!_ Handsome as ever."

...

"The red," Caroline advised when she passed the closet to see Klaus peering into the tie drawer.

"You're wearing black, though," Klaus called out, confusion lining his words but she heard the telltale sounds of rustling material and the drawer being closed.

Smirking to herself, she picked up the ruby earrings she was planning on wearing to the cocktail party that evening. "Not underneath, I'm not."

...

"You're late! _We're_ going to be late!" Caroline snapped angrily as she re-entered the bedroom to find Klaus finally present and getting ready. She had gone to look for him throughout the house, but when she failed to find anyone let alone him, she had frowned in confusion before padding back to their room.

"Its our dinner, love; we can be as late as we want," Klaus reminded her, buttoning up his crisp white shirt. She didn't even bother to hide her roaming eyes at his toned chest, slowly being covered up until she ripped the shirt off him (if he could ruin her clothes, she would do the same to him) later that night.

Shaking her head when she realised she was being pulled into his suggestive words, she pushed away those thoughts for later. "That hasn't worked every other time you've used it on me and it won't work now," she huffed, hands on her hips as she unashamedly watched him tuck his shirt into his pants. Averting her eyes when she caught his smug smirk, she dragged her eyes over the bed and saw there was an item missing from the rest of the clothes he had left to put on. "Where's your tie? I put it _right there _not half an hour ago!"

"Its probably in the closet. I must have taken it back in there when getting changed," he shrugged dismissively.

Caroline eyed him suspiciously before rolling them at the innocent look he shot her, dimples and all. Muttering under her breath about him being a thousand year old teenager at times, she headed into the closet, hoping to find the sky blue tie with ease.

Luckily for her, it was the first thing she saw. Laid out on the chest of drawers in the middle of the closet, she frowned when she caught sight of the small, velvet box atop of it. Picking up the box, she wrapped the tie around her hand before curiosity got the better of her.

"Do you have your cufflinks? Because you've left a box here on to-" she began, cracking open the small box to see what he had chosen to wear when she cut herself off at the solitaire, diamond ring that was inside. "_Oh, my god._"

"Got my cufflinks," Klaus informed her with a soft smile, leaning against the doorway as he watched her turn towards him. Shock was clearly written on her face, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. "Do you like it?"

Caroline finally managed to tear her eyes away from the ring in her hands for a second, bouncing them from him and back again. "I- Is it-? I mean- _Huh?_"

Chuckling, he pushed himself away from the doorway and stepped up to her. "Let this be known as the first time I have ever had you speechless," he teased, but she merely blinked back at him. Taking the jewelry box from her hands, he dropped down onto one knee and presented it to her the way he had seen in many of her '_rom-com'_ movies. "Will you marry me, Caroline?" he proposed, watching as her face softened from shock to surprise but still failed to reply. "_Now_ would be a great time to regain your ability to speak."

His tone was amused with a very obvious mix of worry at her lack of answer. He wasn't sure how long he was meant to keep waiting (the movies were very misleading with the immediate replies), and he was considering perhaps he had judged the pace of their relationship and the hints he _thought_ she had been dropping the last five years wrongly when she let out a small gasp. A smile immediately curved her lips as tears began to fill her eyes.

"Yes! Yes, yes, _yes!_" Caroline emphasised, her voice getting louder and more excited with each repetition. "Of _course_ I'll marry you!"

Letting out a breath in relief, he barely got the time to realise what was happening when he was almost knocked off balance (_almost_) as she flung her arms around his shoulders and pressed her lips to his. Sliding his hands up her legs, he stood up with his arms around her waist without breaking their passionate embrace.

Pulling away only when he realised he hadn't completed one important aspect of the engagement, Klaus pecked her lips one final time before bringing the hand clasping the ring box in between them. Looking up at her through his lashes when she giggled in anticipation, holding her left hand up for him (blue tie still wrapped around her palm), he plucked out the ring and slid it onto the correct finger. It fit perfectly; snug against her knuckle with the diamond glinting beautifully in the light.

Caroline held up the hand against his chest to admire the sight, leaning her forehead against his as the giggles failed to stop bubbling out. "I love you," he murmured, lips brushing against hers.

"I love _you_," she replied before following through with a heated kiss that effectively stopped the (probable hysteric) giggles in her throat. "We're really going to be late now. I need to redo my makeup and I kinda wanna just take you to bed first."

Smirking, Klaus tossed the empty jewelry box behind Caroline onto the chest and reached up to brush her hair back from her face, all the whilst keeping his other arm around her waist to keep her to him. "Its a good thing that dinner is just for the us two then, hmm?" he informed her slyly, tugging her gently with him back towards the main area of their bedroom.

Curling her fist into his shirt, she tossed back her head with a sigh of relief. "God, my fiancé's a genius."


	36. Withholding Sex

_**Caroline is mad at Klaus and threatens to withhold sex.**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>She was tucked up in bed when he arrived home. The scent of blood followed him, but it wasn't strong enough to indicate he had made a few fresh kills that evening. If anything, he probably stood idly by as others attacked in the same vicinity as him.<p>

The room was dark (she was planning on sleeping after spending the last couple of hours finished off her college work) but that didn't stop her from realising something was off. She laid still and watched through slitted eyes as Klaus strode past the bed and into the bathroom in that agile way of his. His steps were soft and almost inaudible, even to vampire's hearing. It was the biggest sign that he was trying to sneak in undetected.

He entered the dark ensuite and didn't even bothered to switch on the light as washed his hands in slow running water. Sighing, Caroline reached out and flicked on the bedside lamp to indicate his presence had not gone unnoticed. "What have you done?" she asked carefully.

There was a pause where she could hear him still in his actions (probably in surprise) but he cleared his throat to reply nonchalantly, "Nothing."

Groaning at his forced tone, she turned onto her back and stared up at the canopy of their four poster bed. "Liar! You've done something, I can… _sense_ it," she announced, flailing her arms in the air before allowing them to drop heavily onto the mattress.

"What happened to trust being the foundation of every relationship? Your lack is hurtful," Klaus' dry yet amused retort bounced off the tiles of the bathroom. making her scoff incredulously.

"'My _lack_ is hurtful'?" she quoted, almost spitting out the words and pushing herself up onto her elbows. He appeared in the doorway, with the light of the lamp just barely reaching him to cast shadows on his sharp features and making him so hauntingly beautiful that she almost forgot her argument. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I _hurt_ your little feelings over whatever is it you're hiding from me?"

He chuckled at her accusation, only to make the anger inside of her start to rile up. "What if its a surprise? Do you really want me to ruin it for you?" he asked sweetly, distracting her momentarily as he pulled his top off, followed quickly by his shoes, socks, belt and jeans.

"_Ah ha! _So you _are_ hiding something!" Caroline gasped, sitting up straight with a finger pointing at him accusingly. Slipping into a pair of sweats he usually slept in, Klaus shrugged and threw her an innocent look, puppy dog eyes and all. "_Don't! _You're going to tell me exactly what it is, and none of this 'surprise' bull. I can tell the difference between a secret-surprise and a secret-bad thing."

She eyed him carefully as he climbed into bed next to her, settling down into his pillows as if they were simply having a casual conversation. "There's nothing to tell," he informed her, catching her gaze when he turned to face her. Caroline frowned down at him, making him sigh in surrender. "You'll just get mad."

"I'm _already_ mad," she told him sharply, watching as he merely kept quiet and watched her back. Realising he wasn't going to reply, she exhaled deeply in irritation before turning away to switch off the lamp. "Fine. I'm going to sleep."

"Good idea," Klaus agreed readily. Caroline laid back down under the covers, curling up with her back to him and closing her eyes. It didn't take long before she felt him shuffle closer to her, his front pressing up against her back as an arm wound around her waist to hold her to him.

"Nope," she snapped, popping the '_p_' and pushing his arm off her before tucking her hands under her pillow. "_You_ don't want to share your secret, _I_ don't want to share my body."

"Those are two very different things, love," he rasped out, warm breath brushing her shoulder to send shivers down her spine, but she refused to relent. His hand had fisted on her hip; not holding her but still touching her. "C'mon, I'll make it up to you."

Caroline ducked down into the covers when she felt his lips brush against the nape of her neck, effectively stopping him short in his ministrations. "Will you tell me what you've done?"

He was silent momentarily, and she could feel his presence hovering over her before he murmured sensually, "How about amazing sex, however and whatever you want?"

"How about '_no_'?" she whispered back with a huff. Pulling herself away from him by turning onto her stomach, she added, "Go to sleep. I am."

She was sure she was on the edge of slumber when the covers were tossed onto her and her back was met with the cool air of the room. Wide awake once again, the bed bounced lightly as Klaus left with a sigh and making her sit up.

"Where are you going?" she asked in confusion, her heightened senses allowing her to make out his outline as he pulled on a dark green singlet.

"If you're not going to let me even touch you, then there's no point in me sleeping. I'll be in my studio," he replied in a clipped tone, heading towards the bedroom door with full intention of leaving.

"_Fine,_" she called out petulantly after him, flopping back onto the bed and deciding to splay herself out over his side instead.

"_Fine,_" his annoyed grunt reached her even through the closed door and down the hallways. The telltale sounds of him slamming a door shut followed by the rustling of a canvas against a stand were the last things she recalled before finally managing to succumb to sleep.

Their little tiff wouldn't last long, she was sure of that. They'd air it out the next day, with Klaus confessing what he had been keeping from her before she sought out the truth from one of his daywalkers. Plus, the offer to have her wicked way with him however she wanted was too good of an offer to pass up.


	37. Won't You Promise Me You'll Never Forget

**_Klaus - "Won't you promise me that you'll never forget?"_**

Requested by anon.

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><p>The Minnesota sky was painted in every hue of pink, red, orange and yellow she had ever seen (and not seen) as the sun made its way towards the horizon in one final sunset before they travelled back to Virginia the following morning. Minneapolis was their final stop on the three month long trip around the states, and though the bank of the lake they were currently parked the car upon wasn't the most glorious sight she had witness that summer, it was still pretty magnificent.<p>

"Perfect way to end the summer, huh?" Caroline murmured contently, resting her head on Klaus' shoulder. They were perched on the car's bonnet; a habit she had forced him into joining her.

"One of many perfect ways, sure," he said with a suggestive tone, making her smirk and wrap her arms around one of his as she shook her head goodnaturedly.

They had crossed the line of '_friends' _to '_more than friends'_ two nights into their trip. She wished she could have said she had held out for little longer, but after two years of refusing him and being dumped through a 20 second-long voicemail, she had simply allowed herself to _feel_. It had been a weight off her shoulders to finally stop fighting her true feelings, and she had learnt just how amazing Klaus could be when she allowed him to show her.

"Thank you," she said softly, peering up at his questioning face when she felt him shift to look down at her. "For giving me this adventure. Taking me out of Mystic Falls for a couple of months and just letting us _be_."

"Thank you for allowing me to do so, Caroline," he replied, squeezing her thigh gently and leaving his hand to rest there lightly. There was a beat of silence as they both gazed at the sunset, his cheek pressed atop of her head, before he added wistfully, "I guess its off to college now."

Biting her bottom lip, she nodded. "Yeah, and off to New Orleans for you."

"It doesn't have to be," Klaus told her, leaving his unsaid meaning lingering in the air as she slowly lifted her head up from his shoulder. He lowered his eyes to where his hand began rubbing her leg gently. "Three years isn't too long to wait before reclaiming my city."

"When have you ever waited for anything you wanted?" she laughed dubiously, but his silent and pointed look with a ghost of a smile made her swallow it quickly. Pursing her lips, she tilted her head and told him, "I'm going to college, Klaus. I had this huge plan before I turned and I want to try and accomplish some of it. College is one of those. A complicated relationship isn't."

"Of course," he agreed, though the slight hint of disappointment made her heart clench in remorse. "Can I ask something of you? Will you promise me that you'll never forget?"

"Forget what?" she asked curiously, watching as he licked his lips; an action she had learnt recently he did when nervous and abiding his time (or really turned on, but she doubted that was the case right then).

"This, the past few weeks, _us_," he listed passionately. Caroline froze momentarily and then she leaned in to press her lips to his sweetly.

"I promise," she told him, smiling and dropping another kiss to his stubbled cheek before giggling. "Besides, with all the souvenirs I bought and all the pictures I took, I doubt I ever could forget."

Klaus chuckled at the memory of her buying gifts at every town, city and state they went through, no matter how short for. There was an envelope filled with postcards to accompany them, too. "Very true. Do let me know if you require a hand in building some shelves to house them all," he said teasingly, laughing and wincing exaggeratedly when she shoved him.

"Why? Are _you_ going to be my handyman?" Caroline asked, quirking an eyebrow skeptically at him.

Scoffing, he straightened his posture as he spoke haughtily, "I have minions for that stuff, love. I'd merely swoop you away as they worked."

"Too bad. I find men doing household chores actually pretty hot," she sighed dramatically, drawing aimless patterns on the back of his hand with the tip of her finger, smiling conservatively when she felt him react by clutching her leg tighter at both her actions and her words.

Clearing his throat, he told her casually, "In that case, would it help if I mentioned how I could build you your very own bookcase with my bare hands?" Klaus smiled, dimples and all, making her melt instantly and lean in closer to him. "Shelvings, too."

"It would help _a lot_," she giggled, allowing him to pull her into a deep, meaningful kiss. Laying a hand onto his cheek, she left it there long after they broke apart. "Friends, right?"

"I think we're a _bit_ more than friends," he said wryly, though she noted the hopeful tone to the words too. Caroline nodded affirmatively yet hesitantly, dropping her hand to hold onto his.

"I mean, after we're back in Mystic Falls. We'll be friends again, right? You won't take back everything you've said and done now you've had me for the summer?" she questioned him, worry beginning to creep back in and bringing up her insecurities once again. She refused to be ruled by them, but it was something she needed to know.

The time they had spent together had been some of the best of her life, and she was sure the company had more to do with it than the events. His promise to be her last love was seeming more and more likely now; in fact, she could actually imagine it. But to get there, they had to be friends first, and something inside of her couldn't help but doubt he would want something so simple when he had had much more over the summer.

"If friends is what you want, then we shall be friends," he conceded with a tight smile, one she reciprocated sadly because they both knew she wasn't ready for anything more yet. "But I would never be able to take any of it back, love. No matter what."

"Good, 'cause I expect you to keep in touch, like, all the time and see each other occasionally. And even though I say friends, I might mean '_friends_' during those occasions. Just until I graduate," Caroline informed him coolly, proud she managed to get her words out without a single giggle.

"Is that so?" Klaus stated slyly and nodding acceptingly. "I will take what I can get."

Smiling, she kissed him once again, deepening it by smoothly trailing the tip of her tongue over the seam of his lips until he allowed her access. Despite the various things they had done throughout the summer, and the various new discoveries she had made in the world of sexual activities, simply _kissing_ him was still one of the most awakening experiences she had ever had.

"Will you take me back to the hotel now?" she asked, brushing her lips against his as she spoke, both knowing she was truly asking him to take her back to bed for one final night of passionate, hot, wild and tender lovemaking (because that was what it ultimately was).

"Gladly," he smiled before getting to his feet and helping her down. The sun had long set, leaving them in the final moments of dusk as she slipped into the passenger's seat of the car and waited for Klaus to climb into the driver's side.

Eyeing the stars that were slowly becoming more and more visible, she smiled softly to herself when she managed to make out a couple of the constellations Klaus had taught her that one evening they had spent laying on the car's hood in the middle of the Nevada desert. It was during the little moments like those where she saw the true him. Not the human side, or the even hybrid, but the mix of both which made him who he really was. It was that man who she could see possibly spending her life with.

Sighing despondently, Caroline tried to push away the thoughts of how in less than 24 hours, she would be back in Mystic Falls where life would resume as it had before her great adventure. Her friends wouldn't question her about her decision to go travelling with Klaus because he would have left by the time the stars were out, and her mother would simply help her pack for college. In a week, she'd be in her dorm room with her two best friends, ready to take on the next step in her life with everything she had. There would be frat parties to enjoy, sororities to join, and new people to meet. Romances and friendships, along with heartbreak, awaited her. Who knew where all that could take her?

Looking over at Klaus when he subtly reached over for her hand, she offered him a smile at the concerned look he gave her in response to her out-of-character quietness. Taking in the sharp features she indulged in gazing at every morning just before he woke up, now lit up by the artificial road lights, and the soft curls at the nape of his neck she enjoyed running her fingers through when she wasn't tugging on them, she came to the conclusion that perhaps she was being a _bit_ too optimistic with the hopes of having the next few years to find herself and explore new opportunities in any and every way she could.

An uncomplicated relationship would never be for her; not with him lingering in the back of her mind. She would never tell him so, but he had effectively ruined her for all other men (and perhaps women, if she had felt inclined). After the summer she had spent with the one and only Klaus Mikaelson, she was sure she would probably be single for the next three years.


	38. My Heart Is Wherever You Are

_**Klaus - "My heart is wherever you are."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>He met her in Phoenix. She was working as an interior designer for a small company in the city, having moved to take the job when she had outstayed her welcome in Richmond when she couldn't pull off looking like 27 anymore. Her ambition to be a career-driven woman, for however long it would last, and have her own independent life had taken her to Arizona despite Klaus' insistence to join him in Louisiana.<p>

Her apartment was small, but it was hers, and she cherished being able to go back to a place she could call home every evening. There was a bag of groceries in one arm as she opened her front door, and the air shifted around her even before she turned to take in the place. She could sense his presence the second she stepped inside.

Shutting the door, she twirled around and was not disappointed to find him casually lounging on her couch. Arms spread along the top of it and with a leg crossed over his other knee, he looked like the perfect epitome of relaxation.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked, pleasantly surprised to have him to come home to for the first time in over four months.

"I came to see you," Klaus smiled, and she reciprocated from the other side of the kitchen island that separated the two rooms as she put away her shopping.

"Yeah, I can see that. Why didn't you say anything?" she asked, referring to their (mostly) daily phone calls and sometimes video calls. They were going three years strong in their relationship, and most of it had been spent long-distance. The thrill of texting had worn out a few months into it with the need to hear each other growing stronger.

"I thought a surprise would be better," he replied casually with a shrug and titling his head slightly as he watched her go about her household work before heading over to him.

Caroline held her arms out towards him with a slight pout when he didn't move an inch at her approach. "Aren't you going to give me a hug?"

"I suppose," Klaus sighed exaggeratedly, a smirk playing on his lips as he pushed himself onto his feet and wrapped his arms around her shoulders as hers went around his waist. She held him tightly, inhaling his scent when she tucked her face into the crook of his neck and revelled in the immediately sense of content and security she felt. "I missed you, Caroline. I simply woke up this morning and took the plane here. That's why I didn't say anything; there wasn't time."

"I've missed you, too," she admitted quietly, smiling against his skin when she felt him press his lips to her temple. "This was easier when I was still in Virginia."

"That's because you hadn't come down to New Orleans to stay with me before that," he reminded her of the three months she had spent in the Big Easy between her jobs.

Pulling away, she guided him back to the couch and curled up next to him. "How long are you staying?" she asked hopefully, not realising how much she had truly missed him until now he was here.

"I'm not sure," he admitted slowly, reaching up a hand to softly stroke her cheek with the back of his hand with a gentle smile. "I could, theoretically, spend some more time here and head back to New Orleans sporadically until this… _feeling_ goes away."

Raising an eyebrow, Caroline laid a hand on his chest and rubbed it soothingly. "That bad, huh?" she asked, tenderly yet teasingly. She giggled when he suddenly grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and leaned in to nip at her lips with his own in a form of pseudo-punishment for her words.

"Absolutely awful, love. I'm not sure what's causing it," he played along in a low, husky voice that had her biting her bottom lip in temptation.

"I'd be happy to help you figure it out," she replied suggestively, running her hand up to his shoulder until it rested under his top and strummed her thumb over his collarbone. Clearing her throat, she raised her eyes to look into his as she questioned him seriously, "What would you do here? Phoenix is kind of dull in comparison to the French Quarter."

"There is a supernatural community everywhere. I can always try to rule over this city too," Klaus mentioned casually before holding up his hands in surrender, laughing, when she slapped him on the shoulder. "I'm kidding, Caroline! I will find something. A thousand years has kept me well versed in methods to entertain myself."

"_So_ many dirty jokes I could make on that," she informed him, straining her tone and tossing her head back as she giggled but kept the jokes to herself (for the time being). She caught his eye roll when she shifted so she perched lightly on his lap, facing him directly as she asked, "Are you sure?"

"Never been more sure of anything in my life," he replied immediately; steadily and truthfully. His hands found their way to her face, cupping it gently as he threaded his fingers into her hair. "My heart is wherever you are. I just need to be there too, now."


	39. You Will Never Feel Like That

_**Caroline to Klaus - "You will never feel like that again, I promise."**_

Requested by rpklaroline.

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><p>"What are you doing?" Klaus asked, entering his art studio to see Caroline stood behind the easel with a paintbrush in her hand.<p>

He had slipped out before she had waken to visit his hybrids at the Lockwood manor. After giving them a few instructions (nothing too evil and bloody for once), he stopped by a cafe he knew she loved to pick up some brunch. He had dropped the bag in the kitchen before making his way to his studio where had sensed her presence. To say he was surprised at her being in that particular room, dressed in just a (previously _plain_ grey) henley top of his and her sleep shorts, was an understatement. What was more surprising was to see her actually behind the easel he had set up.

"Painting," she replied offhandedly, giving her attention to her work at hand. The tip of her tongue stuck out from the corner of her mouth in concentration, and if that wasn't the most adorable sight ever, he wasn't sure what was.

"Right, I can see that. But _why_?" he questioned, shutting the door behind him and tilting his head to the side curiously.

"Because I figured there's enough space in our relationship for two artists," Caroline replied, meeting his eyes with a cheeky smirk as she picked up another colour palette with what he could see was a mix of different shades of blue. He didn't want to think about how much paint she had used or what an amature hand might have done to his precious paintbrushes. Money could replace them (even if it would pain him slightly to break in new equipment), but a memory like the one being created right then was priceless. "Plus, you make it seem so easy so I thought I'd try."

"Yeah?" he prompted, taking steps forward when she failed to reply. "And?"

Head snapping up, she gasped and quickly placed herself in between her work and him. "_No!_ Don't look!" she cried, wide-eyed and jabbing him in the chest with her elbow as she tried to keep him back.

Unfortunately for her, Klaus was a good few inches taller than her meaning, despite her efforts, he still managed to catch a glimpse of her work over her head. A smile formed on his lips slowly, and he assumed Caroline had stopped fighting him because of it. Sighing in defeat, she turned back and used the detail round paintbrush to sign her name in the corner.

"Oh, my," he commented, amused when he finally got the chance to take it all in when she eventually relented and stepped to the side.

In front of him was a painting of a green orchard, filled with pink blooming flowers and brown tree trunks. Yellow stick people, some almost half as tall at the trees themselves, littered the background as a red blanket (he assumed from the wicker basket atop of it) took up most of the grass in the foreground of the painting. It must have been the hugest picnic blanket ever made if that was the case, but he stayed silent. The sky was a beautiful mix of turquoise and navy (he wasn't sure was to make of it), and despite the obvious summer day, there was a lack of sun. As in, there wasn't one at all.

Clearing his throat, he crossed an arm across his chest and used the other to point at her work of art. "Well, this is a true masterpiece," he announced, trying his best to keep the smile out of his voice. When she huffed, it was clear he had failed.

"Shut _up_, alright? You make it seem easy, but its not," she exclaimed with a small pout before gathering up the supplies she had used and putting them back where they were kept. "I don't have the patience for it."

"No, truly, love. Its amazing," Klaus reiterated. It may not have been Hermitage-worthy, but he could see the effort she had put into it and the fact she had tried simply because it was something he enjoyed made his heart swell like he didn't know was possible. He wasn't use to being an example for somebody to aspire to. At least, not in a good way. "In fact, I think it'd look better at a distance, don't you?"

"What?" Caroline replied at his vague words, looking up from where she was cleaning the paintbrushes with a turpentine soaked rag. Knowing she was currently indisposed, he grabbed the still-wet painting and _whooshed_ over to the other side of the room where there was a small wall piece hanging. It wasn't his, and if he was honest, it was far too small and high up to ever give it enough notice. "No! Don't you _dare_, Niklaus! People will _look_ at it!"

"That is the plan, Caroline," he chuckled, climbing onto the cabinet that lined the wall underneath with one easy hop. Shooting her his trademark dimpled smile as he peered over his shoulder at her glare, he turned back to replace the old painting with the one in his hands before jumping back onto the floor in one fluid movement. Walking to the desk, he perched on the edge of it as he took in his new wall decoration. "I like it."

She scowled at him from where she was recapping his paints. "How did you get so good, anyways?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Time and practice," he replied before elaborating further, "Painting is- _was_ my way of escaping. An alternative to lashing out, as you once put it. I loved drawing when I was human."

"To escape your father?" Caroline questioned gently, coming over to stand in front of him when she was done and effectively drawing his eyes away from her word. Pressing his lips into a tight line, he looked at her before nodding once and sighing.

"To escape _reality_," he corrected her, tugging lightly on the curl that hung loosely around her face with the ends tinted orange. Glancing back at the painting, a laugh bubbled inside of him when he realised she hadn't even use the colour. "Art and crafts were one thing I was good at that others got to appreciate. It gave me a sense of self-worth when all Mikael would do was make me feel weak and unworthy of any anything."

Caroline laid a hand on his cheek to bring his attention back onto her. Her green eyes shone bright with sympathy, and if it wasn't for the sheer determination he could see in them too, the biting irritation at it would have taken over. "You will _never_ feel like that again, I promise," she vowed sincerely.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, sweetheart," Klaus said softly, trying to insert some lightheartedness with his ghost of a smile. She scrunched up her nose cutely when he brushed the end of her hair tendril against the tip of it.

"I don't," she informed him whilst slapping his hand away, and he knew she was being completely honest by the sheer unbridled assurance in her voice. "I'm here, and I don't plan on going anywhere. I'll make sure you remember how wrong he was."

He took in her features; the clear shining eyes, slightly downturned mouth and the small crease between her eyebrows (which he had learnt was her thoughtful look), and reached out to pull her to him by the waist until she stood between his legs. Her features softened when he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, hoping he could tell her how much her words meant to him. No one outside of his family had ever openly promised to stay with him, and no one had ever thought of him in the way she did. It meant more than he had thought it could to have such acceptance from somebody he loved after so long.

Caroline moaned in protest as he slowed down the kiss, pulling away with a few gentle nips at her mouth when she chased his retracting form. Her cheeks were beautifully flushed with a hint of pink when he was finally allowed to lean back and take her in, and the smile that graced her face lit up the whole room.

Twirling her around until she faced her art of work on the wall, he wrapped his arms around he waist and pulled her tightly into him. "Your painting is everything you are," he whispered into her ear before pressing a kiss to the smooth skin behind it which he had long discovered was a particular erogenous zone for her.

"What; simple, childish and disproportionate?" she asked dryly, squirming when he repeated his action twice more until she forced him to stop by tilting her head away.

"Bright, colourful and happy," he rectified, resting his chin on her shoulder and smiling when she giggled silently. Her hand came up to rest against his cheek; thumb stroking his jawline tenderly and lovingly in a way he only ever wanted her to do so. Sighing, he closed his eyes and revelled in the feeling before murmuring, "You make me feel worthy."


	40. Can You Stay With Me Please?

_**Caroline - "Can you stay with me please? Just be with me, here, right now."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Kicking the wet bark in front of her, Caroline scowled at herself when it stained her beautiful light yellow pumps. She had been far too caught up in her thoughts and anger when she had stormed out of her cabin, forgetting she had the completely wrong shoes on for current weather. Thankfully, it had stopped raining otherwise her matching yellow dress would have become embarrassing.<p>

The denim jacket she had grabbed on her way out was now the buffer between the log she sat on and her cream leggings, protecting them from getting wet and dirty. This was not what she had planned for her outfit when she had put it on that morning. Her friends and her were meant to be enjoying the weekend simply _chilling out_ and getting away from the supernatural problem that was Mystic Falls. Unfortunately, she had only managed to take a handful of selfies with Elena and Bonnie (and one with a pouty Stefan) before argument had broken out about her no-longer-secret relationship with Klaus.

Turned out, taking pictures _could_ end up going wrong when she sat with Elena to show her the photos they had snapped and then accidently swiping to the last photo taken before their trip which had been a mirror selfie of her dressed in one of Klaus' henleys. She had only kept it because it had looked _really_ great. How was she meant to know it would bite her in the ass?

Of course, she could have played it off as a joke; claiming it to be one of Tyler's old tops or a new fashion trend she was trying out, but Caroline couldn't keep the secret any longer. She had wanted to tell them over the weekend nonetheless, but on her terms and not like this.

The sound of leaves crunching and twigs cracking underfoot broke her suddenly out of her thoughts, smiling in relief when she saw who it was. "What are you doing here?"

"You sounded like you needed some company," Klaus replied in his crisp accented voice, words light though meaningful as he frowned momentarily at the condition of the log before sitting down next to her. "Company that wouldn't keep biting your head off."

"Maybe telling them in a cabin in the middle of nowhere wasn't my brightest idea ever," Caroline scoffed sadly, fiddling with the hem of her dress as she stretched her legs out alongside his.

"Huh, I'm having the strangest feeling of deja vu," he commented sarcastically, referring to the fact that he had pointed out the same fact not a day earlier when she had announced her plans to him before leaving on her trip.

Smiling to herself in reluctant amusement, she bumped her shoulder against his. "_Shut up_," she huffed, eyes still fixated on her fingers as they wound a loose thread around the end of one until it started to tingle. She didn't know vampires could cause loss of blood circulation by such an act, but before her finger could turn blue, Klaus reached over to gently unfurl the thread and take the hand into his.

"How bad is it?" he asked softly.

Shrugging, she glanced up at him with a small frown and a squint due to the sun filtering through the leaves behind him. "I was about a second away from skewering Jeremy, which is saying something because he's the sweetest out of them all. Usually," she informed him, unconsciously bouncing their joint hands in her lap continuously. "Or he _was_ when he was a kid and none of us knew about vampires and the Big Bad Hybrid."

"Big Bad _Original_ Hybrid, love," he corrected her, and Caroline couldn't help but laugh out at his seriousness. The smile that curved at his mouth told her that it had been his intention. Sighing heavily, she kissed him chastely before standing to shift onto his lap so she could look at him without the sun in her eyes. His arms went around her immediately as she hooked one around his neck, and she couldn't deny the closeness might have been the _actual_ reason for the change of positions. "Want me to compel them to forget and start again?"

"No. They're on vervain, anyways," she muttered offhandedly, playing with mindlessly with his necklaces.

"I could always bleed them first," Klaus suggested thoughtfully after a small pause. Shaking her head, she dismissed the idea immediately.

"It'll mess up the cabin, and I don't feel like cleaning up right now," she played along, making him grin at her atypical cavalier response before he pressed his lips to her cheek in an affectionate gesture. Her eyes closed at the action, revelling in _him_ and everything he was right then. With his scent all around her and his being under and next to her, it was exactly what she needed to escape. Cuddling into him, she slid her arm down and around his back so she could rest her head against his chest. "Can you just stay with me, please? Just be with me, here, right now."

"I'll stay for as long as you wish," he replied, resting his chin atop of her head. It was her favourite place to be; in his arms and tucked up into him. It was safe, content and just them, until reality would bring them back again in the near future.

"Thank you," she said, letting a hand trail up to his neck before smoothing down to the warm skin of his shoulder under the collar of his jacket. "I love you."

"As I, you," he murmured into her hair, bring a smile back onto her face. It wouldn't be long until she would have to go face her friends again, and send him away when she did so. But until then, she would enjoy their little stolen moment and keep it as a reminder for what she was fighting for when her friends would undoubtedly try to tear down.


	41. I Need You

_**Caroline, after Liz dies - "I need you."**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Klaus stood back and watched as Caroline delegated different tasks to her friends; from funeral aspects to taking care of little things such as returning her Mom's squad car back to the station. She kept the personal chores for herself, though he wasn't sure if it was the best idea right then.<p>

Liz had only passed away three days earlier, and after only allowing herself to grieve for a couple of days, Caroline had thrown herself into sorting out everything that came after. The only things which he knew were left to do was to pack up the Sheriff's stuff at the station and whatever needed to be done with the house. He wasn't sure what she planned to do with it all but he wouldn't push her to talk about it or deal with it until she was ready.

Nodding politely as Elena left with the task she was asked to do, he waited until the front door closed before entering the living room where Caroline stood, admiring the many photos that decorated the mantelpiece. They were an assortment of solo pictures, group ones and just of her and her mother, documenting her 19 years adoringly. Klaus had never failed to gaze upon them whenever he had been over, always looking for that _little_ thing he hadn't noticed about Caroline or her childhood before.

"What would you like me to do, sweetheart?" he asked softly as he came up behind her.

She turned slowly and shook her head, keeping her arms crossed tightly in front of her as if she was trying to hold herself together and ward off the pain as well as she could. Her eyes were still puffy and tinted pink from the hours she had spent crying silently in his arms the night before. Dressed in a fluffy cardigan, jeans and flats, Klaus could see how _exhausted_ she was simply by taking one quick glance at her. There was no colour, no strength, no _light_ in her. Even her attempt at a smile was far too forced for him to even reciprocate.

"Nothing," she replied, ducking her head slightly and tucking her hair behind her ears as she did.

Furrowing his brows, he stepped closer to her and tried to catch her eyes. "Caroline, let me help, love. It may not be my strongest skill but I do know how to do certain things if you just tell me," he insisted, trying not to feel offended at her quick dismissal.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I need you to just be with me," she assured him, gazing up with the same glazed look she had had in her eyes for the past few days, only this time he could see loss in them too. Klaus reached out to smooth his hands down her arms, comforting her with the repeated languid motions that usually seemed to work. "My mom's gone and I can't remember a time I last felt so empty and alone, so I just need you to be _here. Please?_ To remind me I'm not alone and make me feel something except for this _stupid_ numbing pain. I need you to be here so you can hold me together when it gets too much and I can't do it anymore."

Caroline's voice cracked halfway through her explanation, ending with wavering words and watery eyes. The begging tone was enough to break his heart. He hadn't felt Liz's death as much as many of the others did, but he felt empathy like he had never before at her pain.

Pulling her into him gently, he wrapped his arms around her back to huddle her closer to him and press his lips to her forehead. Her crossed arms put some physical distance between them, but he could feel her relax under his hands, and he was glad he could do something to help her. "I can do that. Just-" he quickly broke off, deciding not to complete his sentence of something he had been thinking about for over a month, ever since they had learnt the Sheriff's illness was terminal.

"What?" she asked, leaning back slightly so she could look him in the eye with her brows furrowed in question.

Sighing, Klaus ran his hands over her back lightly before replying, "Don't turn it off. Please?" he requested softly yet fervently.

He would stick by her no matter what until she did turn it back on again, whether through her own free will or his compulsion, but it was the aftermath he didn't want her to experience. Caroline was a _good_ vampire, feeding off animals and blood bags, and clinging to her humanity with more ease than he had seen some humans do. However, if she flipped the switched and turned off her emotions, he wasn't sure how she would deal with her actions after she turned it back on again. There was only so much he would be able to control with an emotionless Caroline. There was only so much he was able to control _now_.

She nodded halfheartedly with a smile that oddly looked like it was filled with relief, uncrossing her arms to bring them up and rest her hands flat against his chest so she could step closer into him. "Then don't let me."


	42. Caroline and Liz Bonding over Klaroline

_**Caroline/Liz mother-daughter bonding, talking about Klaroline.**_

Requested by anon.

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><p>Caroline laid wide awake in the dark of her room the night before her wedding. The day had been nice and relaxing; having gone to an out-of-town spa with her two best friends (Rebekah declining on the basis of wanting to make sure everything was perfect for the upcoming nuptials at the Mikaelson manor), with an evening in at her childhood home just the three of them and her mother eating takeout and indulging in some girly movies. It should have been enough for her to fall asleep the second her head hit the pillow, but not tonight. Tonight, her mind kept her awake despite her body's wishes.<p>

Looking on either side of her, she smiled at the sight of Elena and Bonnie both sleeping peacefully in her bed. It had been a while since they had a sleepover and it would probably be their last for the foreseeable future. The clock on her bedside table over Bonnie's head told her it was just past 1am, and her soon-to-be sister-in-law would be arriving at 8am promptly with the hairdresser and makeup artist. Which meant she had to be up in no more than 6 hours to have enough time to shower, wash her hair and eat breakfast without rushing.

Sighing, Caroline attempted to tug the sheets over her head only for it to be snatched out of her hands by the presence of two others. Caught in between them, there was no chance she would be able to move it anywhere where _they_ didn't want it. So instead, she sat up and worked her legs out of the entrapment (making sure not to nudge either of her bridesmaids as she did so) until she was able to shuffle down the middle and off the bed.

The breath she had unconsciously held was released with a deep, slow exhale when she closed the bedroom door behind her and was happy to hear not a sound on the other side except for steady breathing. Padding down to the empty guest room, she paused in the doorway as her eyes took in the various wedding items that littered it. Dress bags hung from wardrobe doors (hers included), shoe boxes left almost no space to walk near the window and accessories decorated the bed.

Smiling to herself, she couldn't fight the eager anticipation that built up in her at the sight of it all. The room would be _bridal central_ in 7 hours, and unless she wanted to look half-dead (no pun intended, though she was sure vampire couldn't get bags after one day) on her special day, she had to get some sleep soon.

Caroline headed towards the last bedroom in the house, carefully opening the door as silently as she could in hopes of not disturbing her mother. Unfortunately, her entrance wasn't as stealthy as she had hoped when she saw Liz reach out and turn on the lamp not a second after she had entered the room.

"Caroline?" Liz asked, confusion, worry and sleep heavy in her words. "Is something wrong?"

"Can I…?" Caroline questioned quietly, trailing off as she shifted uncomfortably on her feet suddenly. She twisted her hands together as her mom smiled placatingly at her.

"Come here, sweetie," she said, holding up the edge of her covers. Caroline hurriedly slipped in, snuggling into the pillow under her head that smelt just like her mom and _home_ as the duvet was wrapped around her shoulder to tuck her in safely as if she was still six, not 26. "You haven't done this in years."

"I grew up," Caroline replied with a pout, making Liz laugh silently at her behaviour. Burying her hands under her pillow, Caroline glanced up at her mom sadly. "I'm going to miss you, Mommy."

Liz moved Caroline's hair out of her face in an act of comfort. "You're moving across town, Caroline. You can see me _everyday_ if you wanted to," she reminded her, but Caroline simply huffed.

"Its not _the_ _same_. I've never lived anywhere but here," she stated, because even that first year of college when she lived on campus, she was home more often than not to visit Liz, Klaus or both. Gazing up, she caught her mother's eyes from the other side of the bed, shining bright and quite awake in the artificial light. "What do I do when I can't get a stupid hairband out of my hair and I can't reach it, and the only things to do is to cut my hair or to ask _you_ to help? I don't want to cut my hair off!" she added hysterically.

Caroline knew it was a ridiculous scenario (it wouldn't happen twice, she hoped), but it was the little things that she would miss her mom for. Like the hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate drops she would make when she was at home on a cold or rainy day, or the traditional bunny slippers she would give her a week before Christmas to wear on the special day itself.

The bemusement in Liz's eyes was clear for her to see, and it only made her sulk harder. "Oh, honey. Are you getting cold feet?" Liz asked soothingly, rubbing her arm through the duvet.

"Vampires don't get cold," Caroline commented offhandedly, fiddling with the edge of the pillowcase distractedly.

"_Caroline_," Liz said in that '_mom'_ voice of hers, commanding her attention and urging her to drop the attitude that was covering her true feelings. With a heaving sigh, she shook her head as best as she could.

"No. I can't wait to get married. I'm _excited_, Mom. Klaus has all these plans for, like, the next three decades, and it sounds amazing. I mean, its probably not going to be the _next_ three decades, but there's so much to look forward to," she began to babble, excitement and happiness starting to bubble up inside with every word she spoke. A smile curved at her lips at the thought of it all, biting her lip bashfully when her mom mirrored it amusedly. "He's a great man, Mom. I really love him, and he really loves me."

"Yes, I know. I wouldn't have given him my permission to marry you if I didn't," LIz reminded her tactfully with a small laugh which Caroline reciprocated.

"I still wish I could have been there to see that," she muttered wistfully, because if there was anyone who Klaus still did his best to try and impress, it was her mother. It was all she needed to know how truly he loved her.

Caroline could still recall the shock when Klaus had told her about asking Liz's permission because he was a _gallant gentleman _(his own words) before their little trip on which he had planned to propose on. Apparently, her mother hadn't made him sweat (much to her disappointment, if she was honest), but rather allowed it quite simply after a few questions about his intentions that she still wasn't privy to.

He had proposed to her in the privacy of their very own tour of the Eiffel Tower's top floor. It was cliche, she knew, but it was everything she could have imagined and she was sure that was the reason he had done it in such a manner. Caroline loved the thought of being proposed on a building that had a century of love stories, and being able to go back in the upcoming years, decades and centuries to celebrate their own little addition.

Frowning, Caroline stared at her mother with a hint of concern. The thought of travelling the world for the rest of her life with Klaus by her side reminded her how it would mean she wouldn't be with a certain someone else. "Are you going to be ok, Mom? I don't want anything to happen to you now you'll be by yourself," she told her, brows furrowed.

Liz was taken aback by her worries and a sympathetic look passed across her features. "I don't know how old you think I am, Caroline, but I'm not _that_ old yet. I will be fine by myself," she stated, making Caroline feel slightly better at her lighthearted response. "Besides, maybe now I'll get some peace and quiet around here without having to worry about what I'll walk in on."

"_Mom!" _Caroline groaned in embarrassment, blushing red and burying her face into the pillow to muffle her voice. "That was, like, _once_ and I swear, hybrids are meant to have better hearing and general awareness than that," she defended herself (and Klaus) for what seemed like the _umpteenth_ time since the incident on the kitchen counter. Luckily, her mom had walked in just before the last layer of clothes had started to come off. It was just unlucky that her mom had walked in at all.

"I should hope so considering I am entrusting him to look after you for the rest of eternity," Liz laughed, though they both knew there was a much more serious undertone to it. Caroline peered up at her, a smile working onto her face at the thought of her mom trusting Klaus to look after her. "Go to sleep, honey. Tomorrow's a big day."

"I'm too worked up to sleep," she replied even as she settled into the bed comfortably as Liz switched off the lamp. There was enough light coming through the windows from the street outside for her to still see, though, and it kept her eyes focused on her mother's features instead.

"The night before my wedding, I was a mess. Excited and nervous, all at the same time," Liz admitted with a nostalgic smile that Caroline barely saw anymore.

She had seen the photos from her parent's wedding from a young age, and snuck little peeks at the album whenever she thought Liz wasn't looking after the divorce. She had flicked through it as soon as she had begun her wedding planning, using a few ideas for her own. Just like the little girl who had gazed adoringly at the photos as a child, that wedding was the only one she would want hers to be like.

"I'm so nervous, too! I mean, what if something goes wrong? What if the caterers forget something, or the decorations are all wrong, or someone in the wedding party pulls out?" Caroline admitted, finally letting off her chest what it was that had really been keeping her up all night. With the wedding being held at the Mikaelson's house, she hadn't been able to pass by and check on things that day. It wasn't that she didn't trust Rebekah (the Original knew her wedding plan better than she did) but simply _not knowing_ what was going on ate away at her. She was use to being in charge, not sitting back and relaxing. "What if someone else wears white? What if I _fall down_?"

There was a beat of silence before she heard Liz let out a shaky breath. "Those are not the things a bride is usually nervous about on her wedding day," she said, and Caroline realised she was more entertained than concerned with her worries. It was enough to calm her down, because if there was one thing she had learnt in her life, it was that if her mom didn't think something was to worry about, then it probably wasn't. "You are one of a kind, and I hope Klaus truly appreciates that."

Smiling at LIz's compliment, Caroline pushed herself onto her elbow to quickly drop a kiss to her mother's cheek before settling back onto the bed. "I just hope he knows what he's getting himself in for," she giggled, already feeling the apprehension that her been weighing heavy on her starting to leave and allowing her to finally surrender to sleep. "Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, my Carebear," Liz whispered back, using the nickname she hadn't heard for a long while. It was juvenile and cutesy, but she loved it because it was something only her parents had called her. Wrapped up in her mother's bed, it only added to the comfort she was in. Tomorrow, she would walk down the aisle to become Mrs. Niklaus Mikaelson, but for tonight she'd gladly revert back to being her mother's little Carebear.


	43. I Wish I'd Never Hung Up the Phone

_**Caroline - "I wish I'd never hung up the phone like I did."**_

Requested by anon

* * *

><p>"Klaus, hey. You're probably screening my calls - I mean, I <em>know<em> you're screening my calls - but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. Please, call me back once you've heard this? We need to talk about this. I love you."

Caroline ended the call with a heavy sigh, leaving the message on his voicemail. It had only been three hours since they had their argument, and she guessed having it over the phone in the first place might not have been a good idea.

Stopping in her pacing, she perched at the edge of her bed and toed off her shoes. She had just gone over to the Mikaelson house in hopes of talking it out with him, only to find the mansion completely empty except for Kol and his small harem of girls in the huge sunroom. The youngest Mikaelson brother had openly grinned at her, inviting her to join him and wait until Klaus got home. Caroline had simply rolled her eyes before returning back to her car and coming home.

Groaning deep in her throat, she wondered when she became the girl who stared at her phone, waiting for it to ring. She had said her piece and now she had to wait. Only, patience was never her strong point; that was Klaus' (at most times).

Instead, she got to her feet and she decided a shower was needed. Indulging herself in the hot water for over half an hour, she came out feeling refreshed and slightly more optimistic. That was until she saw there was no missed call or text on her phone once she had wrapped the towel around her body and hurried into her room to check.

Collapsing onto her her vanity bench, she called him, only to get his inbox once again. Waiting until the automated voice told her she had reached the correct number (Klaus was far too above recording his own message, apparently), she relented and left another message for him.

"Ok, so either you haven't listened to it yet or you're ignoring my voicemail as well as my messages. Or you've gone out on a frenzy, painting the town re- _No_, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to make assumptions. Will you _please_ just pick up the phone? I'm sorry, Klaus."

She hung on for a second longer before pressing the '_end call'_ button on her screen. Making assumptions was how they had ended up in this argument in the first place. It had been her mistake, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe that he had changed simply because they had gotten together. However, after the several months, she _had_ seen the simple differences in him. Like, how he was less angry on a day-to-day basis, and how he stopped acting out when he was hurt (most of the time). His scheming never stopped but he took into consideration whatever or whoever might end up being collateral damage.

Throwing her phone onto the table, Caroline got up and began to get ready for bed. It was nearing midnight and the adrenaline from their fight was starting to wane. Slipping on a pair of sleeping shorts and one of Klaus' shirts, she grabbed her phone before getting into bed, ignoring her wet hair in favour for comfort.

It felt as if she had just closed her eyes when the sound of metal vibrating against wood caught her attention. Grabbing her phone instantly, she couldn't fight the disappointment when she saw it was only a text message from Elena asking her to meet up for lunch the following day.

Caroline replied with a simple '_I'll let you know_' before dialling Klaus' number once again to see if he was still avoiding her. It wasn't like him to avoid a confrontation. He was a confident man who fought for what he believed in, what he wanted and in his defence. Which was why his radio silence worried her about what it could mean for their relationship.

Getting his voicemail, she decided to leave one final message before going to sleep.

"I wish I'd never hung up the phone like I did, but I just let my anger take over me too quickly. I was wrong to get so presumptuous about your actions and yes, I should have heard you out earlier. You have every right to be mad. But, _please_, talk to me. I can't take your silence Klaus. Its worse than your yelling. If you're mad, then just get mad. I can take it, I swear. I deserve it."

Placing her phone on loud, she pushed it onto the bedside table and settled down into her bed. She wouldn't stay up all night waiting for him to call. If he did, she would answer. If not, then she would try again tomorrow.

The shrilling woke her up less than two hours later, only for it to be her mom asking if she knew where Klaus had been. Apparently, she had seen his car go right past her on patrol at the edge of the town. When Caroline drowsily replied that she hadn't heard from him since earlier that evening, the sheriff had warned her about the new bodies they had found in the woods; the latest in the string of so-called '_animal attacks'_ in and around Mystic Falls over the past two weeks.

Without a full moon, the first suspects had been the hybrids Klaus ruled over. And even though he had stated it wasn't him, nor his hybrids who would have confessed when he asked, there had been a slight bout of scepticism in Caroline's eyes. Unfortunately, it seemed to work out that the nights of the attacks were always on the nights where she had no idea of his whereabouts. It was far too suspicious of to be a coincidence, even in their supernatural-filled town.

After promising her mom she would be home for the rest of the night, she contemplated whether to warn Klaus about the potential trouble he might be in with the local police force (those who knew who he really was, of course). Deciding it would be the polite thing to do, she vowed to make it the last call until he replied.

"My mom just called and she said she saw you speeding back into town a moment ago. She also said there had been a few more attacks around the the falls area. I _know_ they weren't you, but she's going to have to investigate and it doesn't help if I don't have anything solid to back you up on. I shouldn't have accused you earlier after you said it wasn't you, but I believe you. I really do. If you say its not you, then I believe you. Because I trust you and I love you, and I really wish you would call me ba-"

His inbox cut off her message for being too long, and she sighed dejectedly at the fact she didn't get to finish off what she wanted to say. After their conversation (or rather, fight), she really _did_ know it hadn't been him. Klaus was a lot of things, and one of them was proud. He wouldn't allow someone else to take responsibility for the actions of the serial attacks that clearly were a means to an end. One she would like to think she would know about, or at least have suspicions about, if it was Klaus' doing. They spent far too much time together for him to hide a diabolical plan. He had sworn he hadn't killed anyone in weeks, and she should have been the first to believe him rather than to accuse him nonetheless.

Realising her guilt of doubting him would keep her up, she decided to leave one final message (truly, this time). As much as she wanted to show she wasn't giving up on him despite their little spat, she needed to give him space all the same.

"I'm going to sleep now so this is my final one. Come find me whenever you're ready to talk. I've done all I can; the ball's in your court now. Just don't give up on us - _me_ - over one stupid argument. We'll have lots to come if you let us," Caroline paused momentarily before adding softly, "Goodnight, Klaus."

Hanging up, she placed her phone onto the spare pillow next to her and felt the tight ball of dread and regret in her stomach start to unfurl with relief. She had gotten out everything she wanted to and could. All there was to do now was wait.

It was enough to fall asleep peacefully, waking up only when the sun peeked through the edge of her curtains and straight onto her face. Groaning, she pulled her covers up over her before subconsciously grabbing her phone to check for any notifications.

To her surprise, there was a text message from Klaus with the timestamp of 3am; just twenty minutes after she had left her last voicemail. It was blunt and to the point, like his serious messages usually were, but left her feeling hopeful that all might not be lost.

_We shall talk tomorrow. I need to be alone right now; I am not in the correct frame of mind to have a conversation with you. Tell your mother I was out of town with my sister; there's an alibi for you if she believes it. Goodnight, Caroline. Sweet dreams._


End file.
